Thursday, April 21, 2011

Medical equipment firms back bill to repeal bidding, Crain’s Detroit Business

A Crain’s Detroit Business article, published on April 10, outlined how home medical equipment (HME) companies in Michigan support H.R. 1041, a bill to repeal Medicare's competitive bidding program. The HME businesses feel this legislation “will prevent many of the companies from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue or going out of business.”

The article goes on to state that “’This program, which will put local home care providers out of business, will limit who Medicare beneficiaries can turn to for service,’ said Robert Binson, chairman of the Lansing-based Michigan Independent Providers Association, one of the groups that support the bill. The program forces patients into longer, more expensive hospital stays, which raises Medicare costs, said Binson, also president of Binson's Home Health Centers in Center Line.”

“While the regulation is intended as a Medicare cost-containment device, it could force 90 percent of the 500 Michigan home health supply vendors out of business, costing the state hundreds of jobs, several company executives have told Crain's.”

To read the full article, click here. (Free registration required)

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