Steve
“Competitive Bidding” What we are really doing is auctioning off health care services to the lowest bidder. Is this really what we want health care services to become in the USA? Competitive bidding might work in other industries where the variables of the service elements can be tied to a cost, in home medical equipment this can’t be done because of the uniqueness of our business, we care for people, we do not just deliver supplies or commodities, those of us who have been successful realize the service side of our business is important. Unfortunately Competitive bidding will force most suppliers to look at reducing the level or quality of their service to stay in business. Our company is in a rural area where the demographics of our service introduce even more variables to our service delivery models. Competitive bidding doesn’t address the cost of gas, the cost of employee insurance, after hour service, etc. Most of us in the business would be willing to sit down at the table and discuss the realities of providing home medical equipment services with those that make the decision on how we are paid, we just want the person/people on the other side of the table to actually know something about our business, not someone who is basing their decisions on data that is inaccurate and has been manipulated to portray the home medical equipment companies as unfavorable and dishonest. We care for the people we service, competitive bidding will force most of to be supply companies.
