NC Patients Unable to Get Home Medical Supplies, Lodging Complaints

CHARLOTTE, NC, January 26, 2011 (Press-News.org) North Carolina's leader in home medical equipment advocacy and education, NCAMES, is collecting reports from Charlotte-area patients unable to secure home medical equipment (HME) services due to an intrusive new program from Medicare that went into effect January 1, 2011. Charlotte is one of nine MSAs across the country targeted for a 'Round 1' nationwide rollout of the program.

The reports will be discussed in detail at the NCAMES Winter Meeting and Legislative Conference January 26-27 at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel.

"Our leadership is monitoring the situation closely and will be examining what can be done to help patients, providers, discharge planners and caregivers in light of the Federal government blocking access to quality care," NCAMES Executive Director Beth Bowen said.

Examples of the kinds of reports NCAMES is receiving include a senior citizen whose longtime oxygen supplier can no longer service her equipment because it did not win a service bid via Medicare's flawed HME bidding program, and another patient who reported major issues with a provider selected by Medicare who could not fulfill a service request.

"My mother was required to stay in the hospital for four extra days due to the provider was not able to deliver oxygen to her address when she was ready to discharge," a patient wrote about the aforementioned issue, adding, "The hospital had to keep her over the weekend, as the physician had prescribed oxygen upon discharge. How is making a patient stay in the hospital saving taxpayer money?"

"Extended hospital stays don't save taxpayer money," Bowen agreed, pointing to one of the negative effects of the Medicare bidding program. "That patient could stay on oxygen for an entire YEAR at home for the cost of ONE DAY in the hospital."

In 2010, NCAMES began a proactive outreach program to its member companies throughout the state to help educate them and their patients about the Medicare changes. This outreach campaign and the bidding issue will be a major item of conversation at the upcoming Annual Meeting and Legislative Conference.

The two-day event will cover topics such as the upcoming 'Round 2' of Medicare's bidding program, best practices in patient services, an update from a Washington, D.C. industry insider, the effects of health reform on small businesses, and a legislative reception with members of the N.C. General Assembly. Round 2 of the bidding program will hit in 2012 in North Carolina communities including Asheville, Greensboro, High Point, Raleigh and Durham.

"The trend our members in Charlotte are reporting matches a trend we're seeing nationwide toward an increase in disruptions to patient services, which is what we tried desperately to prevent in our opposition to the Medicare bidding program," Bowen said, adding, "Unfortunately, what we predicted is coming true."

NCAMES is continuing to promote the industry website, CompetitiveBiddingConcerns.com, where HME providers can report problems with the new Medicare rules and is adding new information on a regular basis to its advocacy website SaveJobsNC.com in an attempt to alert the public to the dangers caused by implementation of the Medicare bidding program.

For more information contact Beth Bowen at beth@ncames.org or (919) 387-1221.

ABOUT NCAMES
With close to 300 member companies and growing, the North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services (NCAMES) is the statewide leader in preserving access to safe, affordable, and therapeutic home medical equipment. We provide advocacy and education to home medical equipment (HME) providers statewide dedicated to helping North Carolina's growing senior population and patients of all ages gain more mobility and experience a high quality of life in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. Instrumental in passing the nations first HME licensure law which has been working to ensure quality home health care since 1995, NCAMES continues to advocate for seniors and patients in need. For more information, visit http://www.ncames.org or call (919) 387-1221.