Death, taxes, and competitive bidding? Ok, the third one is not inevitable, but it certainly appears as if the long-awaited final rule on competitive bidding will be upon us on November 15—or maybe not. While legislative monkey wrenches could still change matters in 2007, the unwelcome march continues for the time being.
How long has it been marching? If you search “competitive bidding” in the free online archives at hhcdealer.com, the oldest entry dates back to February 2000. The article by yours truly (when I was staff writer for Dealer/Provider) mentions competitive bidding only fleetingly. Sixty Minutes commentator Andy Rooney once said, “Death is a distant rumor to the young,” and so too was competitive bidding back then.
As many of you remember, in early 2000 the alphabet soup of HIDA, HHSSA, and NAMES gave way to a new organization called the American Association for Homecare. AAHomecare has been prodding, cajoling, and meeting with members of Congress ever since, but ideas hatched in Congress eventually turn to chickens that come home to roost.
Yet another trip through the archives yields some prescient warnings. A year ago, Bachenheimer and Williams put it bluntly in their Our Turn column: “To put it in simple terms—the industry has been duped! CMS entered its infamous ‘listening sessions’ with one goal in mind: reduce spending on HME and rehabilitation products. If allowed to proceed, CMS will make it virtually impossible for consumers to access the technology that trained medical professionals believe is most appropriate for their needs.”
Ultimately, the industry must as-sess the damage and prepare for the worst—all while hoping for the best and educating lawmakers now to avoid more misery in the future. It is no small task, but I have spoken with countless dedicated providers who do all of this and more. One of those providers is our cover profile subject, Mike Marnhout.
Marnhout resists the urge to view competitive bidding as a death sentence. Instead, he mines the efficiencies of the paperless office and searches for new opportunities. To diversify his business, he is constantly looking for ways to expand into areas such as sleep/CPAP. For more on the Marnhout way of doing business, check out page 16.
Beyond Print Dealer/Provider is proud to introduce it’s new e-newsletter, OSA Today. Awareness of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) goes up every year, and OSA Today reflects the need to go beyond the print version and to offer fresh, informative, and useful content.
OSA Today is devoted to practical business information designed to help HME providers prepare for and succeed in the CPAP/bilevel business. Each issue (sent to your e-mail inbox twice a month) features an exclusive article not found in our print version (or anyone else’s for that matter). Consultant’s Corner rounds up the latest advice from the best sleep consultants in the industry, while a full palette of news keeps you up to date on the continuing media heat that sleep generates—heat that builds consumer awareness and helps your business. To subscribe, go to www.hhcdealer.com, and click on the e-newsletter sign-up link in the right hand corner. From there, you will have the opportunity to sign up for OSA Today or any of eight other e-newsletters offered by Ascend Media, our parent company.
Resources
