‘Nuff Said, Congress?

Some members of Congress have asked providers lobbying against competitive bidding what Medicare beneficiaries think about the program.

OK, here’s what a few of them have to say.

From Milwaukee, Wis.: “I am calling to let you know that I am totally against the competitive bidding [law] that’s been enacted. And I resent it because I will lose my freedom to choose my own medical equipment, my quality of service will be affected, and I just wanted you to know that I would like to see this law abolished.”

From Cameron, Texas: “This competitive bidding on a medical supply company is for the birds. I’ve chosen this company to take care of me … and they check on me regularly that the oxygen machine is running perfectly. And I don’t want to change.”

From San Diego, Calif.: “I use a wheelchair to get around, I use medical equipment in my house to lift me out of the wheelchair and get me into bed and I don’t want cheaper medical equipment. I want to depend on the suppliers that I have now that carry quality medical equipment. So this competitive bidding is a bad idea. I need good quality medical equipment, and I don’t think going cheaper is going to make any good sense.”

From Cleveland, Tenn.: “I’m a senior citizen but my husband and I still pay income tax and I would like it to be recorded that we are against this competitive bidding … We get good service from a smaller durable medical equipment company, and listening to the president, I noticed he said the small businessman is the answer to these problems that we’ve got. We need to shore them up and help them. This looks to me like it’s trying to go into something to put them out of business … and I’m definitely against it and my husband is, too.”

From Pilot Grove, Mo.: “I am an 85-year-old senior citizen, and I want to let you know how unhappy I am with this new law. It will affect my physical and mental health very much. I have oxygen tanks and other machines, and I need a close provider to help me when I need them.”

From Ponte Vedra, Fla.: “I take care of my mother … She is 83 years old and totally dependent. She’s on a feeding tube, in diapers, can’t walk, can’t swallow. End stages of dementia. I take care of her at home and I depend on small companies to assist me with their [durable] medical equipment and the service, so I am very much against the competitive bidding that has been allowed … I firmly believe that it’s an important thing to take care of it at home because she was in a nursing home for two days and it was absolutely, absolutely horrible … It’s really, really important to be able to get the services that I need.”

From Covington, Ky.: “I just wanted to voice my opinion on this competitive bidding. I think it really stinks, especially for people like myself who get their oxygen through the company that’s right here in my area and people that can work on my equipment. It’s just ridiculous to think that I would have to go all the way somewhere else to get something like that, and I think you should think about the older people that cannot do that.”

From Hartford, Conn.: “I’m calling to complain about this Medicare competitive bidding. I’m working with a small company. I have sleep apnea and they are wonderful, courteous, timely and effective, and I really, really don’t want to lose that to competitive bidding. Please, please do something about it. Thank you.”

These comments from home care patients and caregivers across the country are excerpts from phone calls about competitive bidding. I listened to them recently on the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness Web site (www.thecre.com/Forum/), where they are recorded along with a couple of hundred others.

I hope you’ll take the time to listen, too, and that you’ll share these messages with your legislators — and then, of course, ask for their support of H.R. 3790 and a companion bill in the Senate to repeal the bidding program.

View more competitive bidding stories.