The question should be asked:
“whom would benefit the most from the pending threat of federal legislation
permitting Medicare to competitively bid comprehensive O&P services by
providers whom are not necessarily qualified nor licensed to provide these
health care services and still provide the assurance of quality and to the
consumers, the choice of providers?
a) Patient (consumer)
b) Government (taxpayer)
c) a independent office
d) chain of providers
e) all the above
f) none of the above
Is this your final answer?
The govt. is the hypocrite as well in allowing themselves to even consider
this option to be given to anyone who claims to be a provider.
Leave the competitive bidding proposal to wheel chair and hospital bed
providers,
regulate the profession and fund education for the future demand of
qualified practitioners.
Also, assure manufactures are in compliance with Federal Trade Commission
statues.
—– Original Message —–
From: “Kim Ruhl”
To:
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2002 9:33 PM
Subject: [OANDP-L] The cat is already out of the bag.
I find the entire subject of wanting to stop the government from
obtaining what is rightfully theirs, (discounted services in the form of
competitive bidding) laughable. People in this field want to have their
cake and eat it too. They want competitive bidding when it means they are
the exclusive beneficiary to the contract. They don’t want competitive
bidding when their competitor becomes the exclusive contract beneficiary.
If you as an owner, manager, or other individual responsible for
setting and negotiating prices are complaining about the current state of
affairs ask yourself this simple question. Have I been routinely
discounting below Medicare prices in order to obtain more business or
exclusive business? If the answer is yes look in the mirror because the
person staring back is in part responsible for this situation. Where or how
do you think congress got the idea that our industry is over charging for
services rendered?
For those of you who have resisted this type of discounting (Is there
anybody left out there?) guilt by association is sadly your lot.
My opinion: This field needs a purge from the hypocrites who say one
thing but do something else. Discounting below Medicare prices is nothing
more and nothing less than placing profits over people in order to gain an
unfair advantage in the marketplace. Greed is what it has always been and
you need to look no further than Enron, World Com, Anderson and etc. to see
the sad epithet that this type of rationalizing produces. Bottom line if
your hands are clean, they are clean, if they aren’t blame yourself, and
quit your whining. Just remember this, the cat is already out of the bag.
Kim L. Ruhl C.P.O.
