By the time you read this, members of the House of Representatives will likely have voted on the infamous S 1932 budget reconciliation legislation. As previously reported, oxygen equipment ownership under the bill would be transferred to patients after a 36-month rental cap expires. We know now that the provisions were placed into the conference report for the bill at the last minute in December 2005—even though they were never included in previous House or Senate versions of the bill.

When I first heard about these sneaky provisions, I immediately thought of the June 2005 American Association for Homecare meetings on Capitol Hill. At that time, Lisa M. Getson led the discussion by communicating the urgent need for legislators to leave home care cuts off the table in the event of a reconciliation bill. “Home care gave at the office last year,” said Getson, executive vice president, government relations, investor services and compliance, Apria Healthcare, Lake Forest, Calif. “Let providers feel the full brunt of last year’s reimbursement cuts before starting again.”

During the same meeting at the office of Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), Vernon Pertelle, MBA, RRT, CCM, corporate director of respiratory and HME services for Apria, and Dale Tyerman, vice president/general manager for Puritan Bennett, Pleasanton, Calif, made the case for standards under competitive bidding. Obviously, Pertelle and Tyerman did not know about the 36-month cap at the time. If they had, red flags would have no doubt gone up. That is, how can providers maintain quality standards under these new provisions?

As Cara Bachenheimer, JD, and David T. Williams point out in “Our Turn” (page 48): “For the sickest and frailest of patients who do not use a portable oxygen system, how will these patients obtain service for their concentrators after ownership transfers and there is no legal relationship between provider and patient?” Good question.

Even if the bill passes, the good news is that many providers took the time to educate Congressional members about the vital respiratory goods and services that the industry provides. If proposed quality standards (under competitive bidding) eventually conflict with the oxygen cap provisions, surely those provisions will have to be revisited. If and when that happens, Congressional members will hopefully remember what they heard in January 2006. DP

Vernon R. Pertelle Dealer/Provider editorial advisory board (EAB) member Vernon R. Pertelle, MBA, RRT, CCM, has decided to leave Apria Healthcare, Lake Forest, Calif, for a new job as vice president of Outpatient Services (including home health, hospice, DME, and rehabilitation) at the Tri-City Hospital District in North San Diego County. In addition to his new duties, Pertelle will be consulting for a group that represents the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care and the American College of Cardiovas-cular and Rehabilitation Physicians. Last year, Pertelle received the Invacare Award for Excellence in Home Respiratory Care from the American Respiratory Care Foundation. Fortunately, Pertelle will still be involved in the HME industry and will remain a valued Dealer/Provider EAB member.