It's old news now, but it's still good news. In case you've been living under the proverbial rock, you know that a little more than 13 months after CMS released the competitive bidding final rule, the industry got its long-awaited delay. If we use a baseball analogy, we can accurately say it was way beyond the bottom of the 9th inning—it was extra innings. After all, the override of the presidential veto took place in mid July, and round one officially started on July 1, 2008.

Oh, how far the industry has come. I can still remember more than 4 years ago when I attended my first AAHomecare Legislative Conference with Capitol Hill veterans (and HME Today editorial advisory board [EAB] members) Lisa M. Getson of Apria and Vernon R. Pertelle of the Tri-City Hospital District. Back then, the youthful legislative aides we met with seemed concerned, yet distant. One senator's aide did not even have office space for a visit, so we ended up in the main lobby with competing sounds echoing off the marble floors.

Getson, Pertelle, and so many others too numerous to mention were part of a persistent wave that set the foundation for this legislative victory. As EAB member Georgie Blackburn (shown here meeting with US Rep Jason Altmire [D-Pa]) so memorably put it: "We've achieved a miracle," said the vice president of government relations and legislative affairs for Blackburn's, Tarentum, Pa. "In 30 years, I don't recall our stopping any CMS initiative."

How long should this celebration last? I suspect that the hard-core advocates have already forgotten about it. After all, providers must still deal with a hefty 9.5% fee schedule cut across all competitive bidding product categories. It's better than the 26% cut under competitive bidding, and it's better than not billing Medicare at all—but it still hurts.

While there's no doubt that providers have changed many hearts and minds on Capitol Hill, I find it particularly disturbing that we have been largely hammered in the consumer press. The New York Times, no less, saw fit to editorialize in favor of competitive bidding. NBC Nightly News did a two-part series on DME fraud and abuse.

It is no easy task to sell positive news to hard-boiled journalists. Fraud, abuse, and perceived government spending-run-amok are all tasty items. An industry press release that declares, "We are not equipment jockeys," will not be considered news.

What can be done? David T. Williams and Cara Bachenheimer got it right in the June 2008 "Our Turn" when they wrote about the benefits of getting consumer groups on our side. If we champion their issues, they will be more likely to champion ours. Ultimately, these partnerships could help continue the recent momentum, and make future negative stories a little less painful.

Greg Thompson