6,600 Philadelphia Area Beneficiaries Join Town Hall
On Consequences of Competitive Bidding Program
Philadelphia – Thousands of concerned seniors and caregivers in Philadelphia joined a town hall teleconference call to learn how Medicare’s competitive bidding program will impact access to quality home medical equipment and timely service.
The call was hosted by Last Chance for Patient Choice, a Non-Profit 527 affiliated with the VGM Group in conjunction with People for Quality Care (PFQC), an advocacy organization formed by The VGM Group to advocate on behalf of those who utilize durable medical equipment, and the Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers. The call brought consumers and health care professionals together to discuss the consequences of Medicare’s program that eliminates local home medical equipment suppliers from providing service to beneficiaries.
6,600 residents answered the call to listen to the panel discussion, ask questions and participate in periodic polling throughout. Of those who participated in the poll questions, 100 percent were unaware in the upcoming changes in Medicare in the Philadelphia region. Ninety-five percent said that the government should not be allowed to choose their provider for them and 95 percent desired to stay in their own homes as they age. One hundred callers opted to “press-through” and connect with Congress members who represent the Philadelphia competitive bidding area. House members were asked to support H.R. 1041 and senators to create a companion bill, which would repeal competitive bidding.
Participants heard from panelist Ann Eubank, the Executive Director of Users First, a program of the United Spinal association that advocates for Americans to have access to the wheeled mobility that allows them to live the lives they choose. She warned that the competitive bidding program is devastating to wheelchair users, because it threatens access to local providers and products that are necessary for activities as simple as crossing the threshold of a door. She stressed that every single part of a wheelchair needs to match the function and lifestyle of the user and worried that low-quality equipment and service will cut off access to an individual’s own community.
Kelly Booth, the author of the blog Trials and Tribulations of Being a Type 1 Diabetic, stressed the importance of high-quality diabetic testing strips that match the need of individual users. Her readers from competitive bidding areas complain of not receiving their choice diabetic strips. Instead they are receiving inferior brands. She highlighted that consistent testing results are a major concern for people with diabetes, and when being forced to change testing strips, consistency is compromised.
In current competitive bidding areas, beneficiaries are experiencing a number of problems. Kelly Turner of People for Quality Care discussed how one beneficiary in Texas purchased a hospital bed from Craig’s list when he learned his new provider was located hours away. She highlighted the importance of telling these stories to legislators so that they understand the unintended consequences of Medicare’s flawed program. She also told of a gentleman with Multiple Sclerosis in Kansas City who waited a month for a new wheelchair battery as well as an oxygen user who complained that his new providers were located in states far away from his home.
The three call sponsors, the VGM Group’s Last Chance for Patient Choice and People for Quality Care and the Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers Services united in effort to educate Medicare beneficiaries about the competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, set to arrive in Philadelphia in 2013. The partnership is in response to a Congressional request for information about how beneficiaries are fairing after the Medicare policy changes.
About People for Quality Care
Our mission is to educate people with disabilities, their families and senior Medicare beneficiaries about health policy changes that affect their freedom of choice. We work with advocacy groups to effect positive change and to ensure that quality, innovation and service remain part of the health care continuum.
