Greg Thompson
gthompson@ascendmedia.com

In a sea of uncertainty, one thing is certain; there will be plenty to talk about next month at Medtrade. As the industry rallies around the HR 3559 Congressional proposal to eliminate onerous provisions of competitive bidding, seminar presenters and attendees alike must prepare for the possibility that the bill will go nowhere. Remember HR 4491?

By the time you read this, CMS will probably have issued a proposed regulation with guidance about actual implementation of nationwide competitive bidding (see “Our Turn” by Bachenheimer/Williams on page 56 for a no-holds-barred warning on this and other important topics).

Add the September 26-27 PAOC meeting to the brew and top it off with the letter from Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa) concerning power mobility documentation (details in Industry News) and you have a critical mass that is ripe for hope and equally primed for disappointment.

As always, Dealer/Provider will be there to take the pulse and help you find ways to thrive no matter what happens. Similar to last year, we take a “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst” attitude. Can you really do both at the same time? You can, but ultimately hoping for the best is not enough—you have to work to achieve the best. People such as Tom Ryan embody this ethic and his enthusiasm rubs off. Check out Ryan’s comments in this month’s cover profile, and I’ll see you at Medtrade.

Grassroots Central is back again at this year’s Medtrade Atlanta just off the trade show floor (look for location details and newly added speakers in the October issue of Dealer/Provider). • October 18 @ 1 pm: Legislative update from Cara C. Bachenheimer, JD, vice president of government relations for Invacare Corp, Elyria, Ohio. • October 19 @ 1 pm: Growing Your Business Within Legal Parameters: This panel discussion will feature Jeffrey S. Baird, JD; Denise M. Fletcher, JD; Lisa K. Smith, JD; and W. Clay Stribling, JD, all attorneys from Brown & Fortunato, Amarillo, Tex.