After attending the AAHomecare Legislative Fly-In, I can’t help but think how great it would be to have Medtrade in Washington, DC, this September. On June 20, special forces (with air support) infiltrated the lines and softened up legislators. Med-trade could cement the message with a massive ground invasion follow-up.

Cara Bachenheimer and David T. Williams came up with the DC Medtrade idea, and we published their thoughts in an “Our Turn” way back in  December 2004. The column sparked a letter from Medtrade’s show director who wrote that Orlando, Atlanta, and Las Vegas were the most “cost effective, professional, and accessible” cities. But are these cities best for the long-term health of the industry? I don’t think so.

While this rehash may be akin to flogging the proverbial dead horse, I still wish that more people took the DC suggestion seriously back in 2004. After all, people want to kill two birds with one stone whenever possible. A Medtrade/legislative fly-in would have been just the ticket.

Why do I bring this up? By unofficial count, attendance was down at this year’s fly-in during arguably the industry’s most pivotal year. In the California contingent, we had 11 last year and two this year—Robert S. Fary, VP of sales for Inogen Inc, Goleta, Calif, and Lisa M. Getson, executive VP, government relations, investor services and compliance, Apria Healthcare, Lake Forest, Calif.

AAHomecare Chairman Tom Ryan echoed these concerns prior to the Hill visits. “We’ve got to do something about the numbers because this is not going to work,” said Ryan. “But I do applaud those who have come here. Most of you are taking time away from your day-to-day business to be here. And you also know that without this work to protect home care...there may not be any home care business to go home to.”

With so many issues to talk about, most attendees put competitive bidding on the back burner (while keeping it on the stove) and focused mostly on reversing the 36-month oxygen rental cap set by the Deficit Reduction Act. Many used the occasion to urge legislators to cosponsor HR 5513, the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act sponsored by Rep Joe Schwarz (R-Mich) and Thomas E. Price (R-Ga), two of nine physicians in the House of Repre-sentatives. Buoyed by an in-person speech from Rep Schwarz, attendees gave him a standing ovation and gamely set out to petition their government. In a meeting with Kristin Wikelius, legislative assistant to Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), Fary and Getson spoke eloquently of the oxygen cap’s risk to beneficiaries and its ineffectiveness in saving Medicare money.

Meanwhile, a precious few legislative aides took the opportunity to look and learn about oxygen equipment at AAHomecare’s Home Oxygen and Patient Technology Fair in the Rayburn House Office Building. Those who did go met elderly patient Margaret Greenawalt of Shippensburg, Pa, and her home care provider, Laura Nesbitt, RRT, clinical supervisor at Air Products’ Young’s Medical Equipment, Harrisburg, Pa. Greenawalt confirmed what all the “lobbyists” were saying in countless offices down the hall—that oxygen and HME in general are so much more than products—they’re about service. “My provider is wonderful,” she said. “Every time I call, I get service.”

Two minutes with Greenawalt and it is plain to see that forced ownership of oxygen equipment is not the answer. Providers are not equipment jockeys or delivery people. You know it, patients know it, but legislators must continue to hear the message.