Reality of Round 2 Hits Home at California Rally

BUENA PARK, Calif. — Hoping to generate support for H.R.
3790 among California’s 53 federal representatives — only
four of whom had previously signed
on to the bill, which would repeal competitive bidding — the
Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America and the
California Association of Medical Product Suppliers convened a
two-day rally last week in Buena Park, Calif.

AMEPA President Rob Brant kicked off the event on a positive
note, announcing that Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., had thrown
her support behind the bill, pumping up the number of cosponsors to
141.

But Esta Willman, a CAMPS member and also a member of CMS’
Program Advisory and Oversight Committee, brought more sobering
news when she outlined the agenda for the upcoming Feb.
23 PAOC meeting in Baltimore.

While California’s Riverside County is one of the nine MSAs in
Round 1 of bidding, more than three-quarters of the 70 event
attendees came from neighboring counties such as Los Angeles,
Orange and San Diego. So at the news the PAOC will be considering
how to subdivide the Los Angeles MSA, “you could hear the air being
sucked out of the room,” one attendee said.

“I think the reality of the program stunned the Round 2
providers when they learned how focused CMS is on pushing this
program beyond Round 1,” said Willman, owner of Medi-Source
Equipment and Supply in Yucca Valley, Calif.

That in mind, numerous volunteers stepped up to visit the
state’s congressmen along with Brant and Sean Schwinghammer, AMEPA
executive director.

Jim Leedom, owner of Home Health Depot in Lomita, part of the
Los Angeles MSA, was one of them.

“The rally was a great opportunity to learn about the problems
that affected the Riverside MSA and will likely occur again,” he
said. “I always wished there was something I could have done to
stop the 36-month oxygen cap and other congressional decisions that
have affected my businesses and the patients I serve. I feel
compelled to do my part to stop competitive bidding today, even
though it will not immediately impact my patients or my
business.”

Members of the group visited the offices of 10 legislators
during the event to ask for support of H.R. 3790, which they
pointed out would “give the government the same projected savings
without closing businesses or limiting a patient’s access to
quality products and timely services.”

For most of the Congress members’ district staff, rally
organizers said, “it was the first time that they heard about the
problems [in the] area, inexperienced and unlicensed bid winners
and the reduction of over 50 percent of the area’s oxygen providers
due to the October implementation of mandatory accreditation and
$50,000 surety bond.”

“Rob and I visited with Congressman Ken Calvert’s district
office staff … He did a wonderful job of explaining the program
to the staffers, and began the process of gaining the congressman’s
support on the issue,” recounted Chris Rice of Diamond Respiratory
Care in Riverside.

The rally was sponsored by AirSep, Invacare, The MED Group,
Philips/Respironics, Pride, ResMed and The VGM Group.

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