Deseret News Quotes Leavitt Saying He Was “Politically Stoned” Over Bidding Program

The Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah, printed an editorial by Marjorie Cortez (“Fear of Government Hinders Healthcare Reform,” Sept. 29) which severely misrepresents the facts regarding the Medicare bidding program for home medical equipment. The American Association for Homecare has responded with the following Letter to the Editor.

"The editorial piece apparently relies solely on the highly selective observations of the political appointee, former Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, whose agency oversees this Medicare bidding program. In his own often-repeated words, Leavitt says he was “politically stoned” by opponents of the bidding program. Your editorial continues, “In a competitive bidding process, low bidders who meet the specifications win the contracts. The rest go away empty-handed. So they start complaining to their congressional representatives. And their industry representatives start pressuring members of Congress to pull the plug on the pilot project, which they did.”

Leavitt apparently did not mention any details about the bidding program, which was designed to put most of the equipment providers (competitors) out of business – even if they agreed to new, lower, competitively bid rates. If the program had been implemented as Leavitt had envisioned, the most providers would have been put out of business. How does eliminating competitors – on top of lowering prices – breed competition in the long term?

Your phrase “brief flirtation” to describe Medicare approach to competitive bidding is extremely misleading. Leavitt apparently did not mention the fact that the bidding program was briefly delayed by Congress in order to make it less of a business killer. Congress did not “pull the plug” on the program by any stretch of the imagination. It is very much alive. New regulations were issued in January 2009 and bids are due by the end of December of 2009.

Finally, Leavitt apparently did not mention the fact that the durable medical equipment community paid for every dollar the bid program had been projected to save (in the form of a 9.5 percent nationwide cut to home medical reimbursement rates in Medicare effective January 1, 2009.) Again, to be clear, this nationwide cut on the bid-upon items equals the savings that Medicare would have realized in the 10 large metro areas in last year’s first round of the bidding program.

As a result of last year’s congressional delay, the following occurred: Taxpayers reaped approximately $1 billion in savings. Thousands of small businesses were spared extinction. And tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries were spared disruptions to their services and access to quality medical care at home, which everyone agrees is the most cost-effective setting for care.

So, what exactly is Leavitt’s complaint? That Congress held him accountable?

Consider these statistics. The durable medical equipment sector in Medicare (oxygen, wheelchairs, hospital beds, etc.) help keep millions of Americans in their homes and out of more expensive institutional care. This sector of Medicare represents less than two percent of total Medicare spending and is growing annually at a rate of less than one percent a year. So spending in this sector is not the problem in Medicare – it’s part of the solution.

Your newspaper’s failure to cover this issue accurately or fairly or in any context is discouraging to say the least.

We would welcome the opportunity to provide a complete rebuttal as a guest editorial or at least a letter to the editor on this topic."

To read the editorial, visit http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705333094/Fear-hinders-health-care-reform.html.

Newsday Prints AAHomecare Letter Correcting Misleading Statements About Home Medical Equipment

The print edition of New York’s Newsday today included AAHomecare’s response to a Sept. 16 story, “Obama: Congress should let panel set Medicare payments.” The story included several misleading statements about home medical equipment and services such as wheelchairs.

The article suggested that lobbying has prevented reductions in Medicare payments for these items. The reality is that Congress delayed a competitive bid program in 2008 after countless problems in the bid process emerged and it became clear that the vast majority of providers would have been denied permission to continue serving Medicare beneficiaries, even if they agreed to new, lower reimbursement rates. The home medical equipment sector took a 9.5 percent cut this year in order to pay for every dime the bidding program had been projected to save taxpayers.

Also, the data used in the August 2009 Inspector General report on wheelchair payments, mentioned in the article, is from 2007. Since then, Medicare rates have dropped dramatically. The report focused on acquisition cost to the supplier, which is only a fraction of the total cost of providing a properly adjusted power wheelchair to Medicare beneficiaries in their homes. That study perpetuates the myth that a person with MS, spinal cord injury, or other serious condition can order a power wheelchair and have it dropped off the back of a truck at their front door, ready to use.

Home-based care made possible by durable medical equipment and services is part of the solution to rising healthcare costs. It’s not the problem.

To read the article AAHomecare responded to, visit: http://www.newsday.com/news/health/obama-congress-should-let-panel-set-medicare-payments-1.1454600

Senator Cantwell Supports Homecare

Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) spoke about homecare during the first day of mark-up of the America’s Healthy Futures Act of 2009, a major health care reform bill currently being considered by the Senate Finance Committee. Cantwell said, “So there are going to be many areas of this legislation where I’m going to be fighting for more cost control measures. I am going to be fighting to change the way we fund long-term care. It’s ridiculous that we continue to focus on putting people in nursing homes, instead of community-based care, when its 70 percent cheaper. We ought to give the senior citizens of America the chance to stay in their home as long as possible. And to give them a place to get the health care they deserve."

Fox News Medical Correspondent Advocates for the Wheelchair Benefit

Taking away a Medicare beneficiaries ability to obtain a motorized wheelchair through Medicare is “absolutely outrageous,” says Fox News Medical Contributor, Dr. Marc Siegel. “Insurance is not care.”

Dr. Siegel spoke about the importance of keeping this benefit available for beneficiaries because not everybody has someone to push them around in a wheelchair. He says, “69% of those who need the motorized wheelchair are not even the elderly, they are the disabled and they can’t speak for themselves they need us to speak for them.”

The segment was in response to Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) recommendation to cut payments to power wheelchairs. Dr. Siegel said he is “worried our lawmakers have no education on what is actually happening in health care.”

To view the segment with Dr. Siegel, visit http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/26467928/costly-cuts.htm#q=medicare

Watch Replay of C-SPAN Appearance by Joel Marx Discussing Value of HME

AAHomecare board member Joel Marx discussed the impact of health care reform on home medical equipment on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal" program on Saturday, September 5. He also talked about how health care reform affects his business and clients, and recent claims about the industry. Marx, CEO of Medical Service Companies in Cleveland appeared as a representative of the American Association for Homecare. See:
http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/05/HP/A/22879/Joel+Marx+American+Association+for+Homecare+Board+of+Directors+Member.aspx.