If a five-minute conversation with your child’s principal might mean the difference between your child graduating or not, would you make the call? If a five-minute conversation with your town’s police chief might make the difference between your neighborhood being safe or not, would you make the call?
The home care sector is facing annihilation from CMS’ wrongheaded approach to bidding. Round 2 payment rates are so ridiculously low that they will force thousands of DME providers out of business. CMS admits that more than 2,600 companies submitted bids, but that fewer than 900 were offered contracts.
It is time for the thousands of companies impacted by so-called “competitive” bidding to take a stand. No longer can a few companies fight for the entire sector. You must take action now. Some of the actions you can take only require five minutes of your time. Isn’t your future worth it?
Call your members of Congress. The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121. The most compelling stories lawmakers hear are told by constituents. Simply tell them what is happening to you because of “competitive” bidding, then ask them to do their job and stop the program. If you are unsure what to say, AAHomecare has talking points and a short issue summary on its website (aahomecare.org/advocacy/action-plan).
Send your members of Congress an e-mail. If you are not comfortable talking to them, that is okay because e-mail is also effective. AAHomecare’s Action Center website (action.aahomecare.org) has a prewritten e-mail that you can also customize if you want. All you have to do is type in your zip code, e-mail address and name, then hit “send.”
Get patients involved. Your patients and their caregivers may not be aware of what the bidding program is and what it may mean to them. Tell them what is happening and share the resources listed in this column with them. When they realize that access to the health care they need and the independence they enjoy at home may be at risk, it is likely that they will join you in the effort to convince Congress to stop the bidding program.
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining why Medicare’s bidding program harms patients and is detrimental to local providers of home care products and related services. You can also copy your local media (newspapers, television and radio stations) when you write to Congress. In addition, you should mention any meetings you have with your Congressman or woman to the media and include information on the issue you discussed. Sometimes this is enough to spur a reporter to write an article. If you would like help working with the media, contact Julie Driver at julied@aahomecare.org.
Join AAHomecare and your state association. AAHomecare lobbies Congress and CMS every day to ease the legislative and regulatory burden on home care providers. The regional and state associations are experts on state-level issues, and are active at the national level as well. Your support is vital to these efforts because every member who joins allows the associations to expand their activities on behalf of the home care sector.
Tell your story at CBRound2Problems@aahomecare.org. You don’t have to write a lot, or even worry about spelling or grammar. Just give us the facts about what you will have to do as a result of Round 2, and let us know if we can share your story. With permission, the association will use the stories we receive to emphasize to Congress, CMS and the media the magnitude of the crisis home care faces.
Everyone—you, your patients, your referral sources and your competitors—must get actively involved today, or there may be no tomorrow. Will the home care sector stand meekly by as CMS bullies it into near extinction, or will it unite against an unfair system and force Congress to truly represent the interests of the people? It’s your call.
