It's time to double down

Advocacy efforts are on the rise, as we near the Washington Legislative Conference on May 23-24 and the industry pushes for relief for non?bid areas, structural reforms to the competitive bidding program, and a critical exemption of CRT accessories from bidding?derived pricing. This May, the HME industry will take The Hill by storm with hundreds of congressional office visits and a meaningful plea for elected officials to take a stand for homecare patients and those who serve them.

One thing is clear: this is not a payment issue—this is a people issue. Millions of Americans rely on the HME benefit each year to meet their medical needs and safely maintain their independence at home.

However, faulty government policies are thwarting access and causing irreparable harm to this vulnerable patient population.

It is critical that our legislators understand the dire situation across the HME landscape, and one of the most powerful tools we have in the process is the voice of the consumers—their constituents—who are suffering as result of their inaction.

Consumer advocacy group People for Quality Care (PFQC) has been a cornerstone in having more than 5,000 end users, family caregivers, and clinicians reach out to Congress about HME issues over the past few years alone. Armed with personal stories, they have left an indelible impression within the halls of Congress. Now, stakeholders are asked to “double down” on industry efforts by expanding the reach of PFQC—which is fearlessly telling it like it is and providing irrefutable personal evidence of the damaging effects of these poor government policies on their daily lives.

Providers need to empower their patients and community to get involved and join the fight and share PFQC's website, www.peopleforqualitycare.org, where they can learn about the issues and take action.

Turnkey educational resources are also available on the website for HME companies to print and share with their customers, written in everyday language geared toward the public. Industry stakeholders can also share PFQC's social media posts across their preferred networking platforms to reach their customer base in the digital space.

By connecting customers to these resources, we can double down our collective advocacy efforts and make a difference. Together, we can. Together, we will!

Kelly Turner is the director of People for Quality Care, a division of VGM Group, Inc.