LAS VEGAS--One big draw at Medtrade Spring last week was the American Association for Homecare's Washington Update, which attracted enough people at its 7:30 a.m. Wednesday session to fill the chairs and line the walls.

Tyler Wilson, AAHomecare president, started out with an urgent call to action: "You realize that your futures are inextricably tied to what Medicare does. I hope when you leave here today, you'll be energized and turn your information into action," he said.

Wilson and Walt Gorski, the association's vice president of government affairs, painted a stark picture for the HME industry, noting that it is being hammered by competitive bidding, an oxygen rental cap, declining reimbursement, elimination of the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs and a perception in Washington that "HME spending is out of control."

In addition, there are federal budget pressures with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a growing deficit that are sparking Medicare cuts and, thus, HME reimbursement.

But there are legislative measures that could change the picture. The Tanner-Hobson Bill (H.R.1845) would allow all eligible providers to participate at the competitive bidding rate, as long as they bid under the fee schedule amount. The Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act (H.R. 621) would repeal the 36-month oxygen rental cap mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act. In addition to championing both those bills, AAHomecare is also lobbying to preserve the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs and seeking to stop any further cuts.

"Right now, our main goal is to stop the bleeding. We are being whipsawed around," said Gorski.

But that costs money and a loud voice, both of which are lacking. AAHomecare membership is currently about 500, and most of its providers are small, 80 percent generating less than $5 million in revenue, Wilson said, adding that the association has only about $10,000 in its PAC coffers.

Those figures prompted A.J. Filippis of Wright & Filippis, an HME, orthotics and prosthetics company in Rochester, Minn., to pledge $5,000 on the spot. "You need to get involved, people," he said to the crowd. "It's imperative that you get to Congress."

Money won't necessarily buy the results HME providers want, Filippis pointed out, but it will buy a much better chance of getting those results. "Money buys you access," he said.

"Everybody thinks that the big guys are going to fight the battles. But everybody needs to be there."

For information on the Tanner-Hobson bill and the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act, visit the AAHomecare Web site at www.aahomecare.org.