DMEopen Statement of Support to Protect Small DME Suppliers Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

#	Company Affected or type 'Patient'	Comments
1	City Medical Services, Inc
2	Pate & Lester	There won't be an industry left. There will be limited choices for the patients in regards to the quality of equipment and the companies providing it.
3	HCA of Palm Beach, Inc	We have 7 employees who will also be adversely effected & could loose their jobs as well.
4	Special Medical Services	I am of the personal opinion that HHS and Medicare are NOT acting in good faith vis-a-vis the competitive bid law and the government's mandate to protect the small businessman. I also believe that not acting in good faith may be suable grounds. However, I am not an attorney and as such my opinion on this matter can only be speculative. What is not speculative are the efforts of Medicare to consciously and systematically eliminate small businessmen. I dont see the big players [ie. Apria, Lincare] taking any action on this matter. I wonder why.
5	After Care Medical Equipment	Competitive bidding will not only affect my patients care but it will put probalble 600-800 dealers out of business and all of their employee out of work. Think how many people will be going on unemployment and how many people will lose thier health insurance. If price is the problem let Medicare adjust their fee schedule as they have done in the past, not destroy thousands of lifes.
6	HME
7	Lifespan Home Medical
8	Homecare America	The CMS DMEPOS competitive bidding process is anti-small business and is not administered commensurate to Congressional mandate or directives. This process needs to be halted and re-evaluated to ensure equitability for small DME businesses.
9	Anonymous	While we are not included in the 10 CBA's listed above, we will be soon as our area has an extremely high population of elderly patients. We strive to provide the best service possible to our customers. I fear our whole company could be shut down if our bid isn't a winning one. I don't think the odds are on our side. They could have saved a tremendous amount of time and money by just requiring accreditation and lowering reimbursment rates. It is a shame that an honest company like ours will have to close our doors after investing so much time and money in our surrounding community.
10	USA Medical Group
11	USA MEDICAL GROUP
12	American Homecare Equipment
13	SOUTHEAST OXYGEN,INC.
14	HMExperts,LLC	I Have a HME Consulting Company and was a former owner of a DME Company for 10 years(1989-1999). I have worked 8 years for a National Company .Since starting my consulting company this spring I call on small DME companies every day looking for work and I feel so sorry for what they are going through .The large companies are certainly not worried about the situation ! It is so very hard to believe the Government is not properly protecting the Small DME companies.The Small DME companies are the Heart of the HomeCare field in this country!!!
15	RespiCare of South Florida
16	Anonymous
17	Anonymous
18	Ability Medical Supply,Inc.
19	RespiCare Central Florida
20	Florida Home Cair
21	Professional Medical Administrators	We have 15 employees and over 30 clients in 4 CBAs that will be affected
22	Medical Supply Depot
23	Anonymous	Competative bidding is designed as a way for the large companies to profit more. And to shrink the industry for better control by Medicare.
24	Pro Medical East and its Patients	Small businesses are more personable to their customers than big businesses. There is more at stake than just employment and product quality.
25	Medical Decision Services
26	Lifestyle Mobility Aids	The competitive bid process will effect all companies starting from the dealer right down to the Mfgr. As a Distributor and Mfgr. of DME products I can already see the effects that this new plan is having. I can say beyond a shadow of doubt that this has hurt my companies sales which in turn effect the amount of money I put back into the local economy. I also feel it is important to point out that I have not only one or two SBA loans but actually I have three! So here is a situation where the Gov. is trying to help grow a small business BUT at the same time is putting the small business out of business. I have enjoyed this industry for 25 yrs.First as a dealer/provider to a designer and Mfgr./Dist. of fine DME products. I can already see the quality of DME products taking a turn for the worse in order to compete. This will become a major problem as the products will not hold up and will need to be replaced more frequently. Another effect will be that if this continues to effect the small businesses that the SBA also gives loans too, WELL you do the math? I myself will be allowing my loans to go in default!! My answer will be you caused this problem so you can also then pay the price along with me! Do the right thing and save the small businesses that built this country to begin with! They are the ONLY ones who will give the level of service to the aging population that so depends on them NOW! Thank you for your time. Darrin Horst President Lifestyle Mobility Aids
27	Unity Medical	I want Medicare Beneficiaries to have chioce in their DME suppliers. Lack of choice may lead to a reduction in the quality of services.
28	Morgan Associates, Inc.	I work in Puerto Rico as well, so the San Juan CBA is within my coverage area.
29	ENK MOBILE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, INC	I feel that the new competitive bidding policy is unfair to small dme providers and will certainly put us all out of business.
30	Medi-Source Equipment & Supply
31	Medi-Source Equipment & Supply
32	Spec Medical, Inc
33	Cornerstone Consumable Supply
34	Oxygen Equipment Manuf
35	Health Options LLC/DME	Dear Sir: My name is Mark Hill and I am the COO of a small DME provider in Western North Carolina. and the nature of this e-mail is to inform you of my agreement to the complaint sent to you from DMEOPEN founded by Rob Bryant of City Medical Services Inc., located in Florida. I have been in this industry for over 35 years and I have seen many changes and rule implementations but never have I had a deeper concern on the impact of Competitive Bidding. The decisions that CMS has made will be a devastating blow not only to a vast number of businesses but also the public. Furthermore, I believe that the Final Rules are in violation of CMS's Congressional Mandate, as well as for other legal resins. We are a small provider in rural North Carolina and have served this area for many years. We are home grown local people that have a deep commitment to our employees and the people that we serve and we feel that the impact to our employees, our customer base and all the ancillary businesses will suffer serious and potentially devastating repercussions. Going forward with Competitive Bidding will remove or reduce the beneficiaries right to choose a local supplier for equipment and services they need. In addition, the "safety net" provided by multiple suppliers in the case of a natural or unforeseen disaster will be removed. Respectfully submitted, Mark Hill COO Health Options LLC Hudson, NC
36	First Choice Medical	Has anyone at CMS look at the demographic information lately. Now as well as in the future we wil need MORE DME providers, not less. If CMS wants to pay less for an item just lower the allowable. Then the providers and patients can decide if they really need it.
37	DME Provider
38	Colonial Medical SUpplies
39	Colonial Medical SUpplies
40	Anonymous
41	Medi-Source Home Medical Inc.	Although we are not in initial ten bidding areas, we agree 100% with everything stated in the complaint filed by City Medical Services. This will be a disaster not only to the small DME businesses but to the customers they serve on a local basis with the dedication and care that can only be offered by knowledgeable people representing companies that have been accredited.
42	MAR-J Medical Supply, Inc.
43	USA Medialcal Group Inc.	Why is the govt. trying to put the small supplier out of business? What is wrong with "any willing provider" ?
44	patient advocate	This is a disaster in the making! Pt's will no longer have back up O2 so when the electricity goes off the pt's will be calling 911. There will be many more ER/hospital admissions which cost more than the current O2 payments. Pt's will receive the cheapest equipment the bidding winners can get instead of a good quality piece of medical equipment that the pt. deserves. There will be less servicing performed therefore putting many pt's. at a health risk. This is just a terrible thing to do to these patients.
45	Anonymous	It is my opinion that the participation in the planned competitive bidding is a waste of time and resources for a Small Minority Business DME. The indiscriminate closing of 500 SBE companies by the Supplier Audit and Compliace Unit(SACU) of the National Supplier Clearingouse(NSC), many which had no resouirces to fight back, just before the Competitive Bidding, should be a clear indication of their true feelings for SBA.( However, I most admitt that it was a good publicity performance: the Good Guys eliminating the Bad Guys.) The indicriminate use of their power and unaccountability of these government agencies with the exucuse that "there are too many crooks in the DME business" is an unacceptable statement. After all, these government agencies were the ones who, initially, granted the licensed to "the crooked suppliers".
46	ROSEL HOME EQUIP. CARE	AS A DME PROVIDER, I BELIEVE COMP. BIDDING WILL BECOME A NIGHTMARE FOR DOCTORS,HOSPITALS,PATIENTS, AND OUR INDUSTRY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, NOT ONLY WILL PATIENT CARE SUFFER BUT EVERY ASPECT OF OUR INDUSTRY.
47	Medcare Products
48	Anonymous
49	patient	i understand trying to save medicare and creating affordable healthcare especially for the elderly. however, if you really want to make health care affordable, why not go after the real money makers-pharmaceuticals. is it b/c they put a great deal of money in politicians pocket? in addition, how will this prevent the winning companies from driving up the prices when the contracts expire and there are no other companies to choose from because they were put out of business.
50	Anonymous	i understand trying to save medicare and creating affordable healthcare especially for the elderly. however, if you really want to make health care affordable, why not go after the real money makers-pharmaceuticals. is it b/c they put a great deal of money in politicians pocket? in addition, how will this prevent the winning companies from driving up the prices when the contracts expire and there are no other companies to choose from because they were put out of business.