The HME/complex rehab industry is under siege from our government. How do we break out of our siege mentality? The way out is to build coalitions in our industry, not only among our members of Congress, but among active consumer groups as well. If our industry associations such as AAHomecare and NCART are the only groups lobbying Capitol Hill, those efforts will be seen as self-serving.

We all have patients with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and COPD. Most of these conditions have a national association that advocates for those people's needs on Capitol Hill. We must engage these groups and educate them about the ramifications of national policy for the individuals they serve.

From a complex rehab perspective, AAHomecare has been diligent about engaging these consumer groups to educate them about the proposed elimination of the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs under the Medicare program. When these advocacy groups understand what is at stake for the people they represent, they take action.

At AAHomecare, Walt Gorski, VP of government affairs, and Alexandra Bennewith, senior manager of government affairs, have focused on engaging these types of consumer groups to act on behalf of their constituencies. The following groups have committed to working on a cooperative effort to preserve the first-month purchase option: the American Association of People with Disabilities, ALS Association, Easter Seals, National Council on Independent Living, National Spinal Cord Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and United Spinal Association.

AAHomecare continues to reach out to other advocacy groups to win their support on this important issue. It is expected that more of these groups will join the effort to preserve the first-month purchase option. We should not wait for another crisis to reach out to consumer advocacy groups. We should also be prepared to lend our support to issues that are important to them.

Another way to break the siege mentality is to continue to actively engage our members of Congress as individual providers. Whether or not we actually make the trip to Washington, all of us can engage our representatives and inform them about our issues. We need to break away from the pattern of reaching out only when we have a crisis. If we only reach out then, the members' staffs will learn to be wary.

Last year at the AAHomecare Legislative Conference, the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES) provided a subsidy to ensure that all seven of its states were represented. This year, MAMES is taking the unprecedented step of bringing its entire board of directors to the Legislative Conference in March 2008. This is an example of the type of engagement that the industry needs, and I challenge every state association to follow suit.

We have built coalitions with key consumer advocacy groups that are ready to help. We must have the courage to help ourselves as well.

Tim G. Pederson, ATS, is CEO of WestMed Rehab, Rapid City, SD. He is Chair of AAHomecare's Rehab and Assistive Technology Council, VP of MAMES, and a member of NCART.