VGM, politicians discuss competitive bidding and related issues

WATERLOO, Iowa, Aug. 17, 2012—Key Iowa legislators met with executives of the VGM Group, Inc., to discuss contacting the White House and CMS about competitive bidding and related issues. Among the guests at VGM CEO Van Miller’s home Aug. 15 was Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, the former chairman of the White House Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform and a current member of the National Conference of State Legislatures Task Force on Federal Health Reform Implementation. Both groups have advised the president on national proposals for health care reform. Topics discussed included:

• Competitive bidding’s effect on patient access to home medical equipment bid process transparency problems and independent HME providers being forced out of business because they lost bids;
• The cost-effectiveness of seniors remaining in their homes;
• Dr. Ken Brown’s study on the economic impact of competitive bidding in Iowa;
• Replacing competitive bidding with the Market Pricing Program.

Also attending were the Democratic members of the Black Hawk County state legislative delegation, who agreed to co-sign a letter written by Hatch. Recipients will be Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services; Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations, and Tim Gronniger, senior adviser for health policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council. For more information call Ryan Ball at 866-394-6868 or visit www.vgm.com.