Hello, this is Liz

I get a kick out of the power some of our readers think I wield.

Just the other day, an HME provider called me and our conversation went something like this:

Provider: I'm looking at the May issue and there's an article that says Round 2 may get delayed. When are we going to find out about that?

Me: Well, there's a bill that has since dropped to replace competitive bidding with MPP, and the industry is now focusing all of its efforts on that.

Provider: What about the delay?

Me: A bill for the delay hasn't been introduced. Before the bill for MPP was introduced, the industry was exploring that as another option to buy some time to get the bill for MPP introduced.

Provider: When will the bill for MPP get voted on?

Me: Well, I know the goal is to get it passed somehow—maybe as part of a larger piece of legislation—before July 1, when Round 2 is supposed to start.

Provider: Do you think that's going to happen?

You get the idea. I really wish I had a crystal ball at times like these. Instead, I have a broken lucky eight ball that, when I shake it, always says, “As I see it, yes.”

Perhaps that should have been my answer to the provider's last question? Here's to hoping it's true.

Recently, I had two providers call me on separate occasions and one called me “the big cheese” and the other called me “the boss.” My conversation with the first provider went something like this:

Me: Hello, this is Liz.

Provider: Theeeeeee Liz, the big cheese?

Me: That's me.

While we're talking about cheese, if I had to name my favorite cheese, which is a hard thing for me to do, because I haven't met a cheese I don't like, it'd be goat cheese. Though, close behind goat cheese would be cheese curds. You can get these in most grocery stores these days, but they're nothing like the kind you can get in Quebec.

Speaking of Quebec, that's where my parents are from, and if you know that, you'll have a good idea of how to pronounce my last name the next time you call. It's French: Beau (nice) lieu (place). But in these neck of the woods, in Maine, they pronounce it Bowlier. Go figure.

Anyway, FYI, I wield very little power around here, especially over competitive bidding. If you want some real answers, ask Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty. She doesn't eat cheese and her last name is easier to pronounce.