AMEPA Rallies Providers on Streets of Florida, Texas

AMEPA Rallies Providers on Streets of Florida, Texas MIAMI–Home
medical equipment providers working frantically to stall the
implementation of round one of competitive bidding took their
efforts to the streets in Florida last week, waving placards and
handing out flyers to passersby in hopes of drumming up more
support.

Two more rallies are planned, one today in downtown Orlando, and
one on Tuesday in Dallas, according to Rob Brant, president of the
Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America, which sponsored
the rallies.

News of the rallies–and the industry’s side of the
competitive bidding story–appeared on the front of the business
sections of both the Miami Herald and the
Sun-Sentinel.

“No experience + no license + no office = bid
winner” proclaimed a placard in a photo accompanying the
Sun-Sentinel story.

Brant said he was pleased at the support for the rallies so far.
More than 100 providers showed up for Thursday’s rally in
front of the Department of Health and Human Services office Miami,
he said. AMEPA’s rally permit allowed for only 30 people at a
time, however, so providers had to alternate. Still, “we had
so many people in Miami that we had all four corners of the
intersection covered.”

Other rallies in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach were also well
supported, he said.

AMEPA decided to sponsor the rallies, Brant said, after the
American Association for Homecare’s May 21 legislative
fly-in. Some 160 providers descended on Capitol Hill to meet with
legislators about competitive bidding and urge them to delay its
implementation.

“After the Washington fly-in, we just figured every
congressman would be on board around the state,” Brant
said.

But in a discussion with an aide to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.,
Brant found that was not the case. Indeed, neither of
Florida’s senators supported a delay.

“Nelson’s health care aide said that if CMS said
everything is fine, then everything is fine,” Brant said.
“We were appalled by that. We were really frustrated they
weren’t listening to us. So now we’re making them
listen to us, which is basically why we are doing the
rallies.”

The flyers, he said, advise people to call Nelson and
Florida’s other senator, Republican Mel Martinez. “They
need to hear from their constituents to stop this,” Brant
said.