Buying a medical supply business in Panhandle and North Florida

• Many accounts and referral sources, with no single clinic, health system or physician driving most sales.
• Sales reps whose accounts would stay with the company if they left.
• Recurring revenue from rentals, resupply programs and standing orders, rather than one-time sales.
• A billing team with few denied claims and documentation that holds up in audits.
• Supplier relationships and pricing a new owner can keep, including any exclusive territory for a product line.
• A rental fleet tracked by serial number, with cleaning and maintenance logged on schedule.
• Current accreditation and licenses with no lapses, and a clean record with Medicare and the Medicaid plans it bills.
• Delivery routes, inventory counts and reorder points kept in a system, not in the owner's head.

• Medicare pricing. Medicare's competitive bidding program is coming back as a single nationwide round, with bids due in early 2027 and contracts starting January 1, 2028 (CMS's target dates). It covers continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, ostomy and urological supplies and some off-the-shelf braces, and only winning bidders can bill Medicare for those items. If they matter to this business, ask whether the seller is bidding.
• Audits. Audits by Medicare and the plans, denied claims and repayment demands, and whether patient files have valid orders and proof of delivery. Florida Medicaid can hold a buyer liable for overpayments identified by closing (section 409.907(6)).
• Referral arrangements. Payments, free staff or perks for doctors or other referral sources can break federal anti-kickback law. Have a health care attorney read every such contract.
• Customer contracts. For distributors, how much of sales rests on a few customers, and the terms of any contracts with group purchasing organizations or health systems.
• Inventory and fleet. Expired or slow-moving stock, goods held on consignment, and the age and condition of rental equipment.
• Supplier agreements that end, or need the manufacturer's consent, when ownership changes.

• Which products bring in the most revenue and profit, and how much comes from rentals and resupply compared with one-time sales?
• Who are your largest payers or customers, and are any contracts up for renewal soon?
• Which doctors, hospitals or clinics send you most of your patients or orders?
• How often are claims denied, and have you had any audits or repayment requests?
• Which accreditation and licenses do you hold, and when are the next renewals and surveys?
• Do any manufacturer or distribution agreements need consent to move to a new owner?
• Who runs billing, delivery and the warehouse day to day, and would they stay?

This is our largest region by area. It runs from Pensacola east through Milton, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Panama City and Tallahassee, and down into North Central Florida around Gainesville, Lake City and Live Oak, with many rural counties along the way. We also include Hardee County, around Wauchula.

The economy has several anchors. The military is a big one, with Naval Air Station Pensacola, Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field and Tyndall Air Force Base. Tallahassee is the state capital and home to Florida State University and Florida A&M University, and Gainesville has the University of Florida. The beaches from Pensacola to Panama City Beach, including Walton County's coast, draw summer visitors. Inland, timber, farming and small manufacturing matter, and towns like Apalachicola and Cedar Key make their living on the water. Contractors, defense and government service firms, restaurants, lodging and farm businesses all have markets here.

Plan for distance first. Pensacola is closer to New Orleans than to Gainesville, so most companies serve one local area, and you should know exactly where the customers are. Most of the Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River runs on Central time, an hour behind Tallahassee.

The beach season peaks in summer, the opposite of South Florida, while Gainesville and Tallahassee slow down when students leave. Hurricanes have hit hard: Michael came ashore near Mexico Beach as a Category 5 in 2018, and Idalia in 2023 and Helene in 2024 struck the Big Bend coast. Military base budgets and state government spending matter to many companies. Near the Alabama and Georgia lines, ask how much revenue comes from across the border, where other states' licenses may apply. Rural counties have small labor pools, so a company's key employees matter even more here.