Turning back the "competitive" bidding program
has been the top legislative priority for AAHomecare for years, and
we're proud of the strong support in Congress for H.R. 3790, the
bipartisan bill to preserve access to home care while providing a
cost-effective alternative to competitive bidding.
In addition to our lobbying activities, we have been engaged in
a state-by-state communications campaign to highlight local concern
about the bidding program. Here are a few highlights from press
statements we have distributed so far:
COLORADO: “Competitive bidding sounds reasonable on
the surface. However, in its current form, it is very dangerous for
patients who need home medical equipment. Only one in 10 providers
will be awarded a bid, so nine out of 10 providers will quickly
close their businesses. This will ultimately cost Medicare more
money as hospital discharges will often be delayed trying to
coordinate patient care.” — Doug Coleman, CEO, Major
Medical Supply, and board member, Colorado Association of Medical
Equipment Services
FLORIDA: “Competitive bidding is an oxymoron. There
is nothing competitive about it, and it's not bidding, it's
mandated suicide. Florida is an HMO-rich state, and we are used to
bidding, but this CMS program isn't ‘competitive,’ it's
purely ‘limitation’ bidding.” — Roger
Ribas, president, Florida Alliance of Home Care Services
INDIANA: “CMS is promoting this exercise as a way
to save Medicare dollars and help in reducing fraud and abuse. The
reality is that this misguided bidding program will ultimately cost
Medicare more money by eliminating community-based sources of
medically necessary home medical equipment and services. Bidding
will force increasing numbers of patients to find health care in
the more expensive institutional environment of skilled nursing
facilities and hospitals.” — George Kucka,
president, Fairmeadows Home Health, and past president, Association
of Indiana Home Medical Equipment Services
KENTUCKY: “Kentucky has approximately 550 home
medical equipment providers across the state, and a majority of
these are small businesses like ours — many are what you
might call ‘mom and pop’ operations. Dozens of these
companies are at risk of going out of business if competitive
bidding is allowed to proceed, and hundreds of jobs are likely to
be lost.” — Tammy Johnson, owner, AbleCare, and
president, Kentucky Medical Equipment Suppliers Association
MONTANA: “Even though Montana is not in Round 1 or
2, the effects of competitive bidding will be devastating to
Montana suppliers. The price achieved will be applied to Montana by
law in 2016. Before that, both Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield
will adopt the fees set by competitive bidding. This will force
some … suppliers to eliminate services to Montanans and
others will simply get out of the business.” — Mike
Calcaterra, branch manager, Norco, and state legislative chair, Big
Sky Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers
NEW JERSEY: “This bidding program is something that
New Jersey's Medicare population should be gravely concerned about.
If implemented, this program will do nothing more than delay access
to necessary medical equipment, reduce the quality of the medical
equipment provided, and place additional economic strain on the
small business community. With the passage of the health reform
bill, this program is now slated to encompass an alarming 80
percent of our state during the second round of bidding.”
— Wendy Russalesi, executive director, Jersey Association
of Medical Equipment Services
OKLAHOMA: “Credible studies project more than 60
providers in both the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas might have to
close their doors as a result of competitive bidding. More than
1,200 jobs could be lost statewide. In some cases, elderly
individuals or people with mobility problems will have to go from
dealing with a single, community-based provider they know and trust
to working with multiple companies for different home medical
equipment products and services.” — Dennis Teal,
director of homecare, Stillwater Medical Center, and board member,
Medical Equipment Suppliers Association
Please add your voice to this growing chorus. You can contact
your member of Congress and find out how to contact your local news
media at www.capwiz.com/aahomecare. Also, spread the word on
Facebook at Stop HME Bidding, and Twitter at @StopHMEBidding.
Read more AAHomecare
Update columns.View more competitive bidding
stories.
Tyler J. Wilson is president and CEO of the American
Association for Homecare, headquartered in Arlington, Va. You can
reach him at tylerw@aahomecare.org. For more
information on critical home care issues, visit the association's
Web site at www.aahomecare.org.
