VGM: Competitive Bidding Targets Minorities, Poor

WATERLOO, Iowa–In a press release issued Thursday, The VGM
Group said it is continuing its attack “on so-called ‘competitive’
bidding” for home medical equipment and services.

According to the buying group, U.S. Census data indicate that 31
percent of the population in the first 10 MSAs that will be bid
sites is Latino, while only 15 percent of the country’s population
as a whole is Latino. The percentage of individuals living below
the poverty level in the initial competitive bidding areas ranges
from 13 percent in Charlotte, N.C., to 32 percent in Cleveland.
Across the 10 areas, the poverty level is 19 percent, while only 13
percent of the U.S. population lives below the poverty level.

“Minority and poor beneficiaries are being used as guinea pigs
to test the government’s theory that ‘competitive bidding’ for nine
product categories will result in savings to Medicare,” said Mike
Mallaro, VGM’s CFO/CIO. Mallaro is also president of Last Chance
for Patient Choice, a non-profit advocacy group backed by VGM.

“Because CMS will take the lowest-priced equipment without
taking into account the service component that is such a large
component of the HME industry, Medicare beneficiaries will be the
victims of a two-tier health care system. Those who can afford to
pay for technologically advanced equipment and traditional levels
of service, which naturally cost more, will be able to do so.

“In the meantime,” Mallaro continued, “poor patients and many
minorities will be forced to accept the cheapest equipment from the
lowest bidder. Why are poor people and Latino-Americans being
targeted disproportionately? That is absolutely un-American and in
my opinion, unconscionable,” he said.

VGM said it is sending sample press releases to all of its
members in the first 10 MSAs in hopes they will inform local media
about the congressional competitive bidding mandate and its
implementation by CMS.

VGM and Last Chance are also supporting lawsuits in two
jurisdictions, most likely Texas and Ohio, to raise the issue of
equal protection under the law in court, said Jim Walsh, VGM
general counsel.

“The theory is that beneficiaries in bid areas are being treated
as second-class citizens by the law that requires them to be served
by HME providers who are hamstrung in their efforts to provide
quality and products. The law effectively rewards providers, by
allowing them to stay in business, for furnishing the cheapest
equipment and the least amount of service,” Walsh said.

“Elsewhere in the country, providers are supposed to be paid
usual and customary prices in a highly competitive environment that
rewards good service and high-quality equipment. That is a denial
of equal protection of the law to those unfortunate enough to live
in bid areas.”

To view the VGM member media release, visit www.vgm.com.

For more information on Last Chance for Patient Choice, visit
www.lastchanceforpatients.org.