The President’s budget is bad news for the HME services industry, and it is equally bad news for the consumer agenda.

For years, the leadership of the HME services industry has known that one of its great untapped resources is the energy and enthusiasm of the people who consume the products and services the industry provides. Several attempts have been made to involve consumers in fly-ins and other events. Each time, everyone involved has commented on the effectiveness of consumers speaking out on issues important to the industry. Then a crisis hits and the consumers are left waiting for the assistance the industry promised to provide in advancing a consumer agenda.

There is no doubt about it. The challenges facing the HME services industry this year are greater than ever. At the same time, consumers are waiting for fulfillment of the promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Ticket-To-Work legislation, and President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative. There is an unmistakable synergy between advancing the consumer agenda and addressing the challenges facing the industry. Neither the industry nor consumers can succeed on their own but together, both can claim victories. To take advantage of these synergies, providers must become educated about the issues important to consumers, actively involve themselves as advocates for these issues, and participate in consumer events that bring attention to the consumer agenda.

Education is Key
Understand the three issues that head the consumer agenda in 2005. These are: 1) passage of the Medicaid Community Attendant Services Act (more commonly known as MiCASA); 2) access to appropriate assistive technology, and 3) getting states to comply with the Olmstead decision. Advancements on these three issues could turn the rhetoric of Washington into the reality of main street.

The next step is to advocate. HME providers are as intimately involved in the lives of their customers as any health care provider. The difference is that many of these other providers have taken positions in support of the consumer agenda. Unfortunately, the industry—mired in crisis after crisis—has never taken the time to vocally and forcibly support the consumer agenda. The industry has no right to expect consumers to storm Capitol Hill on its behalf if it is AWOL when the consumers need support. Stand up and be counted when the debate on MiCASA begins.

Providers must become visibly active in consumer events and consumer organizations. Active involvement is much more than buying tickets to fund raisers and placing ads in consumer publications. Active involvement means being present with your customers when they are fighting for their rights and when they are having the time of their life on a ski slope or some other social event. Remember, the first step in building a mutually beneficial relationship is being present during good times and bad.

The President’s budget is bad news for the HME services industry, and it is equally bad news for the consumer agenda. Congress needs to know and understand that consumers and providers are in the fight together. They must know that if they fail to right the wrongs of the bureaucracy and make the goods and services of providers available to consumers, they will be hearing it from both groups. They must also know that if action is not taken to enact MiCASA this year, the provider community will join consumers in a march on Washington.

Why should you get involved in advancing the consumer agenda? The answer is that it is the right thing to do and it is good for business. Any effort to preserve the dignity or advance the civil rights of any disadvantaged group is right no matter how you look at it. The consumer agenda is about achieving dignity and being recognized as full citizens.

As consumers achieve the goals outlined above, they will look to you to provide the equipment and the services they need to survive. Once living in a community setting, these people will have disposable income that enables them to purchase things from you that insurance may not cover. Also, providers who have been visibly supportive of the consumer agenda will engender customer loyalty that other providers can only envy.

Ultimately, providers and consumers will accomplish much more working together than either can accomplish working alone. Embrace the consumer agenda. In reality, it is your agenda too.

Cara C. Bachenheimer, JD, is vice president of government relations for Invacare Corp, Elyria, Ohio. David T. Williams is a consultant for political and legislative strategy.