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Showing Up...It Matters!

Published in VGM Government Relations on October 20, 2026

Author: Adam Miller

We've all heard the phrase, "Showing up matters." That can mean a lot of different things at different times in our lives, even changing daily. Perhaps it means leaving work early to attend your children’s event. Maybe it means not missing that important meeting at work. No doubt, both of those things are important. For us here in the Government Relations corner of VGM Group, it means something additional.

Over the last month, our Government Relations team has been doing exactly that: Showing up and encouraging others to do the same. It may have been one of us attending and/or presenting at one of the more than a dozen state association conferences across the country, or meeting in person with HME providers and reinforcing the critical role they play in shaping public policy.

One message we have consistently reinforced throughout our travels is the importance of grassroots advocacy. While national advocacy efforts are important, the most powerful advocates are providers themselves. Elected officials want to hear directly from the businesses and healthcare professionals serving patients in their districts. No one can tell the story of how policy decisions affect patient care better than those delivering services on the front lines.

“OK, Adam. You get paid to show up. It’s your job. How am I as an HME provider supposed to show up?”

There’s a couple of ways. If you aren’t a member of your state or regional HME association…join. If you are a member of your state association and it has an upcoming conference or even a virtual call…make the time.  There has never been a more critical time for industry to come together and combine your voice with others.

We have encouraged members to build relationships with their legislators before, during and after a critical issue arises. Inviting lawmakers to visit your facility, meeting in their district office and simply introducing yourself and showing what you do to a local elected official can help establish valuable connections. That makes a difference when legislative and regulatory issues emerge.

I wanted to spotlight a few recent examples of how VGM Group and our members have been “showing up” with legislators.

Showing Up...It Matters!

Elana Health in South Charleston, West Virginia hosted Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) at their office and discussed challenges they are facing with reimbursement rates and how it affects their rural customers’ access and affordability of their services.

Showing Up

Leadership from Mark Drug Medical Supply in Wheeling, IL, met with Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) in his district office to discuss how including ostomy products in competitive bid would affect their business and patients. Rep. Schneider is the original cosponsor of HR 10787 that would remove ostomy and urological supplies from competitive bid for five years.

Showing Up

Ike Isaacson, SVP of Government Relations, and Lindy Tentinger, President of VGM, were invited to meet with Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of CMS alongside Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) to discuss the real-life effects of competitive bid and our industry’s commitment of denouncing fraud, waste and abuse.

Showing Up

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) attended Oklahoma’s State Association (OMEPA)’s Annual Conference in October to hear from members about the headwinds such as competitive bid, Medicare Advantage and declining reimbursement that our industry faces.  Senator Lankford introduced S.2951, “The Competitive Bidding Relief Act," designed to provide better reimbursement for many providers.

Effective advocacy starts with making the commitment to show up, building relationships, and sharing your story. Together, we can continue to advance policies that protect patient access to care and strengthen the HME community.

As the VGM Government Relations team continue our travels to engage with legislators and to state associations across the country, we look forward to connecting with more providers and remain grateful for the providers who make the commitment to “show up” and get involved.

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