Providers Testify at the 2019 SBA Regulatory Fairness Hearing

Published in Member Communities on August 28, 2019

In August, the Small Business Administration (SBA) held a Regulatory Fairness Hearing to receive feedback from small business owners about the regulatory environment. Stakeholders that testified on behalf of the DME, CRT, and women’s health industries included Georgie Blackburn of Blackburn’s, John Letizia of Laurel Medical Solutions, Jasmine Jones of Cherry Blossom Intimates, and Nikki Jensen of Essentially Women/VGM.

Georgie Blackburn began by illuminating what is happening to small businesses contracted to provide durable medical equipment to Medicaid recipients under the CMS authorized state managed care model. She made it known that these are concerns not only in her state, but all across the country. John Letizia addressed Medicare reimbursement for CRT accessories saying that, as an independent supplier, his company prides itself on the service that they provide to their customers. However, CMS’s flawed pricing policy is affecting their ability to provide service to their power wheelchair customers.

Tom Powers of VGM also attended the event, and he reports that the SBA Hearing was a great opportunity to get the industry’s message across about the business challenges and barriers preventing access to care caused by regulations. He also said that H.R. 2771, H.R. 2293, H.R. 2408, and H.R. 1370 were well received during these presentations to the panel of National Ombudsman.

A special thanks to all of the medical equipment suppliers who testified or attended in support of the industry. To read more about the hearing, click here.