DURHAM, N.C. — Marcia Ladd, president of the North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services, recently told the national ombudsman of the U.S. Small Business Administration that Medicare competitive bidding is keeping her company, Triangle Aftercare, from hiring more workers and is forcing other North Carolina HME providers into staffing and service cuts, according to a release. Since the implementation of Round 1, Ladd told the SBA's Esther Vassar, "What we're seeing right now from our peers in Charlotte is devastating to their businesses and the people they employ and to the Medicare beneficiaries in their area." (Charlotte is one of the nine Round 1 bidding areas.)
"The government is trying to kill-off a large portion of our industry by forcing HME providers into sub-industry pricing to supply essential products and services," Ladd said. "With less and less HME providers available, seniors and other patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities who want to move to less expensive in-home care are forced to stay where they are, costing taxpayers millions more dollars. This bidding program is accomplishing the opposite objective of what the Obama Administration is pushing with health care reform."
Ladd made the case against the bid program at a "Startup America" event held March 3 in Durham. Startup America is a White House initiative to accelerate jobs growth throughout the nation.
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