With baby boomers fast approaching the age where chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes and respiratory ailments set in, and with the number of seniors expected to grow to 70 million by 2030, according to the U.S. Administration on Aging, the medical supplies and equipment industry will continue to grow.

Though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (www.cms.hhs.gov) recently took action against abuses of the Medicare program by temporarily halting issuance of new supplier numbers, which vendors need to sell their products, they are expected to begin issuing numbers again early next year. New applications will be heavily scrutinized, making entree into this industry more difficult but not impossible. Most experts say the extra effort will pay off for entrepreneurs, as the size of this market continues to boom. "Families of senior citizens will rely on quality home health care more and more," says Kay Cox, president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare, which represents the home medical equipment and supplies industry. "The entire home-care industry is growing consistently--no one particular segment has been left behind. And the number of patients is rising steadily."

Samer Ariss, 29, and Farshad Firouznam, 30, started their home medical supplies business in 1998 after hearing about the opportunity from doctors they knew. Forgoing dental and medical school, the pair invested $16,000 of their own money and hours of building relationships with area doctors to grow Orange, California-based Global Care into a $6 million business. Ariss credits the success to the partners' focus on a specific niche: respiratory and sleep apnea products. They've also expanded to include a mail order pharmacy. Says Ariss, "At the end of the day, you're really helping older people live normal lives."

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