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Letters to the editor: Beneficiaries get left out in this welfare state

Letters to the editor: Beneficiaries get left out in this welfare state

To start, we are not a contracted provider in any of the competitive bidding areas. However, we have entered into several sub-contracting arrangements in areas that were critical to us, albeit, at lower but still somewhat profitable rates. We are turning away patients in other areas, as well as a significant amount of our service and repairs.

I never thought I would say this, but in this climate that's been forced on us by CMS with its highly flawed bidding program, reductions in reimbursement, continued audits, onerous oversight, capricious and unrealistic paperwork demands, a highly partisan Congress, political agendas overshadowing reasonable and logical decisions and other factors, we can no longer care about the welfare of the beneficiary. We can only care about the welfare of our business.

In the long run, this myopic approach by CMS will no doubt do considerably more harm than good, and the fallout from their actions will affect our seniors and their care for many years to come.

This has become more of a business than ever before, and due to the above factors, we have no choice as business owners but to treat it this way. It has been forced upon us, and I feel empathy for the increased needs of our aging population that will require and expect access to quality health care in the years to come, only to find a series of roadblocks due to misguided bureaucratic decisions.

--Dennis Kline, president and CEO, Source One Medical, Irvine, Calif.

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