Who wouldn't love home medical equipment providers? You make it easier for the elderly to remain in their homes or to live with loved ones. You improve day-to-day life for the disabled. You keep patients with chronic disease more comfortable.
So why does it seem that Congress doesn't like you? The short answer is that these folks just don't understand what this industry is all about. They don't understand the role you play with your referral sources or your customers or where you fit in the communities you serve. And maybe the key thing they don't understand is how you save them money.
Let's face it. Unless people have needed HME services themselves, or a family member or friend has, most consumers don't know this industry — or your company — exists. The members of Congress are no different. Many are simply unaware of HME.
The logical solution is to educate them, right? Yet, when our staff looked at the results of our most recent Web poll (page 10), we were shocked. We asked if participants had contacted their legislators about pressing matters such as competitive bidding or the Deficit Reduction Act's oxygen rental cap. The majority of respondents not only said they hadn't but that they don't intend to.
Why in the world not? Do you really think Congress would have passed the DRA if its members understood they could actually be depriving elderly Medicare beneficiaries of oxygen? Do you really think they get how competitive bidding will affect the seniors they say they want to take care of? Or how their mandates could end up costing the government more than it will save?
Particularly regarding the oxygen cap, Invacare CEO Mal Mixon says he is convinced Congress doesn't understand what it has done. “Right now people get their equipment serviced. It's handled, and Congress gets no complaints. So they're going to screw up something that really works. And,” he continues, “I don't think they're going to know a lot about it until thousands of patients are calling about the change of service, especially in 36 months when you start depriving people of oxygen.” Mixon's company, along with other industry manufacturers, providers and organizations including AAHomecare and VGM, are spending their dollars trying to let Congress know what its actions will mean. But this is a relatively small lobby in Washington, D.C. They need your help.
If you are frustrated by Congress' actions, then do something about it! If you are downright mad, then let them know! If you are so angry you've decided not to get involved, then snap out of it! (That's Cher's line in “Moonstruck,” but it seems to fit here.)
Even if you've made it through all of Congress' legislative poundings without talking to your senators or representatives over the last 25 years, you need to do it now. Unless there is swift amendment of the oxygen rental cap, you could be watching a huge erosion in your income. Unless the Hobson-Tanner bill is passed to ease competitive bidding, you may be waving goodbye not only to some portion of your revenue but to your business.
If you think I'm being overly dramatic, then let me know and I'll take the heat. But these are very serious issues for both you and your patients, and the stakes are high. It doesn't take long to make a phone call or send an e-mail or, for that matter, to visit in person with your congressman or an aide in his or her local office. Check page 12 for important lobbying events coming up in Washington, and visit www.aahomecare.org for information on contacting your federal representatives. For points to make when you're talking to them about the oxygen cap, see Washington Wit & Wisdom on page 56.
Investing in educating Congress about home care's good work and money-saving proposition is no longer a choice; it is your responsibility.
