Competitive Bidding limits patient’s accessibility to medical equipment
I am extremely concerned with competitive bidding for medical equipment. This will greatly affect the accessibility patients will have to the medical equipment they need. I have been certified as an assistive technology provider (ATP) for the past 4 years. I currently work for a DME company in Cleveland, OH. We have positively impacted hundreds of thousands families and individuals with the knowledge and services we provide. We have over 40 years of combined experience in this field, and I am very concerned that the patients will not have access to the knowledge and experience if the competitive bid goes as planned. The competitive bid program will put 90% of the small DME companies out of business. This will result in a decrease of accessibility for patients to the medical equipment they need. The people that are going to be negatively affected the most by this program are the families and the individuals who need the equipment.
The first attempt at competitive bidding proved that inexperienced companies could provide services to patients solely based on the fact they won the bid. This puts the patient at a risk. They could be provided with the wrong piece of equipment or be instructed improperly on the use of the equipment increasing their risk for injury.
Competitive Bidding MUST be ELIMINATED!
