NAIMES: Help defeat DME bidding program

HALIFAX, Va., Oct. 9, 2012—Wayne Stanfield, president and CEO of the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES), encourages HME/DME providers to become an advocate for their industry. His comments are as follows:

What’s that? You say you do want the doomed CMS suicide bidding program to go away? Good! Now listen carefully. Getting rid of the bidding program is easy. All you have to do is go out and sell just one Representative, yours, that it’s bad and needs to be replaced. You don’t have to sell 10 or 50, just one. No one other than you can do it. I can’t sell yours because they’re not mine. If you don’t do it, who will? Are you waiting for someone in Washington to fix it. Sorry, but it won’t happen.

You just said you want the DME bidding program to go away, but if you won’t invest a little time and money in changing the mind of your lawmaker, nothing will happen. You say that you are waiting for NAIMES to fix it? Won’t happen. They have just one Representative like you and theirs has already been contacted. Oh, you’re waiting for VGM and AAHomecare to fix it. Sorry, but you are out of luck again. They have just one Representative, as well, and there are 434 more. Besides, they contacted theirs because they know grassroots works.

Like I said, the ball is in your court. What’s that? You say that there are a dozen other suppliers in your district so they can do it? Sorry about the illusion, but all of them told me they are waiting for you to do it.

So here we are, all waiting for someone else to fix our problem when you are the only one that can actually do it. Now listen, just pick up the phone and dial 202-224-3121. A nice voice will answer and all you have to do is ask for your Representative. Don’t know who it is? Shame on you, but that’s OK. Give them your zip code and they’ll connect you.

What do you say? Well, how about just tell them why the bidding program is bad. You know, patient access, jobs, small business. Tell them we have a replacement proposal, H.R. 6490. Ask them to support it and cosponsor the bill.

Now that was easy wasn’t it? Now just have each of your employees do the same thing. Oh, and your family and friends. Winning this fight is in your hands. Now, just do it!