...And Another trip to DC is in the books!

Another trip to DC is in the books, and we remain as afraid as ever that the current legislative priorities will cause substantial damage to the industry, decreasing the quality of care, eliminating thousands of jobs, and creating a massive cost shift from Medicare Part B (where the DME benefit is) to Medicare Part A (where the more expensive hospital benefits live).
The thesis, which doesn’t require too much in the way of intellectual gymnastics, reads like this; if we don’t provide a high level of quality care in the home patients will be forced to seek care and treatment in higher cost settings, driving up the overall cost of care and pushing the Medicare program closer to insolvency.
This trip was more promising than past trips, but let me be clear with you; we’re not running down there asking for MORE, we’re begging to be left alone, begging for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take a more rational approach, begging for better regulations and oversight to get rid of the fraudulent providers, and begging for recognition of the services we provide to beneficiaries in the home.
We had another busy trip which culminated with six meetings on The Hill on Wednesday.
Highlights included;
• Conference address from OH Congresswoman Betty Sutton
• Conference address from PA Senator Arlen Spector
• Lunch Q&A from former Health and Human Services General Counsel
• Nancy Reagan sighting, we snapped a photo and exchanged pleasantries as she was leaving our hotel Tuesday evening
• Discussions on The Hill with staffers, many of whom we have been able to develop a great relationship with over the last 12-18 months
• And the typical number one highlight, coming home to see my family again
We remain hopeful that we can get some regulatory relief, and end the cycle of cuts that has put many in our industry on the brink of extinction and jeopardizes the Medicare program by continuing the run away growth in physician and hospital spending.
I am entirely confident every night when I put my head on the pillow that the services we provide are of the highest quality possible and that our industry is doing the right thing by patients and the system. CMS is failing us, and failing the country, by not doing a better job of policing the Medicare program and not doing the rigorous analysis necessary to curb spending growth and better align the payment system with the best long term results for patients and the system.
Friday afternoon I have been invited to attend a forum in Boston with Governor Patrick and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathy Sebelius; I hope to have an opportunity to voice my concerns with the Secretary directly about the program and the direction they are going in with the competitive bidding program and some of the other legislative focus areas they inherited from previous administrations. I further look forward to a day when I don’t have to spend so much of my critical time on government affairs work and when we can focus the business and have a clear path forward under a rational and stable reimbursement system…someday soon, I hope.