A March 19 article in the Wall Street Journal highlights worries expressed by patient advocacy groups, including Paralyzed Veterans of America and the United Spinal Association, about the Medicare "competitive" bidding program for home medical equipment.
The article quotes Tyler Wilson, President of the American Association for Homecare, who notes, "Competitive bidding is going to eliminate 90% of home-care providers. The result is going to be lower quality and lower access to care for seniors and people with disabilities."
The Journal states that an estimated 50% to 75% of the nation's 44 million Medicare beneficiaries use some type of durable medical equipment in any given year, but the savings from the bidding program "would be relatively small -- Medicare is expected to spend less than 2% of its roughly $500 billion budget this year on home medical equipment.”
Jerry Jones, a 49-year-old with severe pulmonary hypertension, observes “You get what you pay for.”
To read the full article or comment online, visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123741863094577953.html.
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2 comments:
This bill scares me. I know that Congress halted last year's attempt at competitive bidding when the overwhelming majority of equipment companies were shut out, many because their paperwork was deemed insufficient. Some companies that had never handled certain equipment won out over companies in business for many years.
Only time will tell how this is all going to work out.
The article quotes Tyler Wilson, President of the American Association for Homecare, who notes, "Competitive bidding is going to eliminate 90% of home-care providers.
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