Get Set for Meek Week

ARLINGTON, Va. — In an hour-long conference call Dec. 21,
officials from the American Association for Homecare gave listeners
a crash course in lobbying legislators at home and building
relationships with local media as part of a grassroots effort to
boost support for H.R. 3790.

Just hours before the Round 1 competitive bidding
window closed
at 9 p.m. Monday night, AAHomecare President and CEO Tyler
Wilson told those who dialed in to the open call that the bill had
garnered 118 cosponsors, “but we really have to double that,” he
said.

Introduced by Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., the measure would
permanently suspend what AAHomecare described as the “misguided
Medicare competitive bid program for durable medical
equipment.”

The association has designated the week of Jan. 4, 2010, as
“Meek Week,” and is working with its members and regional and state
associations to organize meetings with representatives in their
home districts to push for additional cosigners on the bill.

“Every House member should support the Meek bill, H.R. 3790,
because [competitive bidding] is a job-killer,” said Michael
Reinemer, AAHomecare vice president for communications and policy.
“The program is designed to put most home medical providers out of
business. We estimate 70 to 90 percent of HME providers will be put
out of business by this program, and most of those are small
businesses. That alone is a very compelling reason why members of
Congress ought to be behind this bill.”

It’s also a compelling reason why HME providers and other
industry stakeholders should get their federal representatives on
board with H.R. 3790.

“This bill is a great opportunity for providers to get behind a
very specific piece of legislation that has some broad
[congressional support],” according to Alissa Hinkson of Rational
360, the association’s public relations firm. “At the end of the
day, the members of Congress care most about their constituents,
and there’s really nothing stronger than a collective voice of
constituents.”

It’s also important to reach out to local media on competitive
bidding, Hinkson said. “Members of Congress read their local media
every day and are far more likely to see stories there about [the
impact of competitive bidding] on the community they represent,”
she said.

To make the most of Meek Week, AAHomecare advised these
steps:

• Call the local district office and schedule a time during the
  week of Jan. 4 to meet with the representative or his staff to
  express your concern about the future of the home medical equipment
  sector and your support for H.R. 3790.

• Invite the legislator to tour your facility to make him familiar
  with the role of HME within the continuum of care in your
  community.

• After you have scheduled the meeting, let local media know why
  you are meeting and describe the value of home care in keeping
  seniors safe and independent at home.

• Call to thank representatives who are already cosponsors on the
  bill and urge them to speak with House leadership about the
  importance of H.R. 3790.

“We have been fighting this battle for three years, four years,
five years, and we can understand how people can get discouraged,”
said the association’s Walt Gorski, vice president of government
affairs. “But we need to keep up the enthusiasm. This is something
that we have to do … We need you to tell [Congress] that this
is wrong.

“We have to stop this program now,” Gorski urged. “Otherwise,
not only is [competitive bidding] going to decimate this industry,
but think about all the patients that it’s going to decimate.
People really need to see that this is a long-term proposition that
is going to increase Medicare spending over the longer term.”

Gorski said Meek “has made the decision that health care reform
is not the right vehicle” for the bill, but there are “a number of
additional opportunities” for action on the legislation such as a
bill dealing with physician payment and a technical corrections
bill for the health care reform package. “And obviously there is
the opportunity to do it as a stand-alone piece of legislation,” he
said, “but we will clearly work with [Rep.] Meek on this
issue.”

Concluded AAHomecare’s Wilson, “That’s what this whole
grassroots effort is about,  building up a critical mass of
support …  that demonstrates that there is a critical
number of members of the House that are interested in seeing this
program turned back.

“During the holidays, think about a game plan for contacting
your member of Congress and engaging them on this issue, and for
lining up their support on 3790.”

AAHomecare will soon post a chart that shows which House members
have signed on to the bill and which haven’t, Wilson said. On its
Web site, www.aahomecare.org, the association currently offers
the text of H.R. 3790, talking points on the bill, a sample letter
to representatives and step-by-step suggestions for successful
meetings with members of Congress.

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