Biggest factor in presidential election? Business

YARMOUTH, Maine - When it comes to the November presidential election, HME providers say they are voting with their pocketbooks.

A whopping 75% of respondents to a recent HME NewsPoll said they plan to cast their vote for Republican candidate Mitt Romney because he understands and supports small business.

"I'm interested in the candidate who is pro-small business and I believe Romney to be that candidate," said Brian Keith, Tarheel Mobility & Service Center in North Carolina. "Being in business can't help but give you an appreciation of what it takes to be successful."

The reason providers have made business a top election issue: 82% of poll respondents believe the outcome of the election will impact their businesses.

President Barack Obama, on the other hand, has been the driver behind healthcare reform, which many respondents say has been bad for their businesses. For one thing, it expanded competitive bidding.

"He has guided CMS on a path of search and destroy for small DMEs, nitpicking us to death to show a modest savings all in an attempt to prop up Obamacare's vast red ink," said Glenn Steinke, CEO of Air-Way Medical in California.

But some respondents say Romney's and Obama's stance on business must also be weighed with their ability to affect the overall health of the country.

"My vote will be for country first and my business second," said Rick Perrotta, president of Network Medical Supply in North Carolina. "By choosing Obama it will hurt my business as he seems bent on reaping Medicare savings. However, if we choose Romney, he will surely wreck our economy with tax cuts, no real jobs plan and run up the deficit to unsustainable levels."

One respondent pointed out that no matter who wins the presidential election, as long as Congress keeps on its divisive path of partisanship, politics as usual is bad for everyone.

"There are 435 members of Congress," said Tim Van, managing member of Van's Medical Equipment of Lakeland in Michigan. "If you want to change the future of government, then forget the president and change Congress."