VGM Asks Hospitals to Join the Fight Against Medicare Cuts

WATERLOO, Iowa (September 7, 2016)—VGM’s Government Relations team is spearheading a grassroots effort to recruit hospital executives to join the fight against Medicare’s most recent cut to reimbursements.

On July 1 DME providers incurred an additional 25 percent cut for Medicare reimbursements due to the Competitive Bidding Program. Many sectors across the health care industry are feeling the aftershock of difficulties stemming from the DME industry.

“Right now DME providers, especially in rural America, are facing extremely difficult decisions,” said John Gallagher, VGM’s vice president of government relations. “They’re having to choose whether or not to accept new Medicare patients, purchase new equipment, what staff to keep or even if it’s feasible to keep their doors open.”

Due to the number of providers that may consider not accepting Medicare assignments, hospitals in rural America will face many challenges. Hospitals will likely face high levels of patient readmissions because of low-quality equipment and discharge planners will have a difficult time discharging patients as accessibility to this equipment will dramatically decrease.

“Since the beginning of the year, many hospital administrators have spoken out regarding Medicare’s actions, but many more are needed,” said Gallagher. “The next few weeks are critical to getting legislative relief before irreversible harm continues.”

In order for DME providers and hospitals to combat these cuts, the VGM Group, Inc., has crafted a letter, outlining these concerns, for hospital executives to send to their elected officials. The letter, as well as other ways to contact elected officials, is located at combatmedcuts.com.  

Visit vgmdclink.com for more information.