United Spinal Association is urging stakeholders to ask their members of Congress to sign onto a new letter that opposes the inclusion of urological, ostomy and tracheostomy supplies in Medicare’s proposed competitive bidding program.
The letter, led by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) and addressed to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D., expresses many concerns with the home health proposed rule that seeks to revive and reinvent competitive bidding.
The deadline for additional sign-ons is Oct. 28.
“Pegging reimbursement to the cheapest bids and expanding competitive bidding into highly specialized product categories — including urological, tracheostomy and ostomy supplies — would give an
advantage to cheap foreign-made goods compared to the quality and professional delivery offered by U.S. suppliers and manufacturers in the midst of a manufacturing renaissance,” the letter said.
The importance of having options
United Spinal’s bulletin, sent to stakeholders on Oct. 27, emphasized the importance of preserving access to a robust list of choices when choosing urological, ostomy and tracheostomy supplies.
“Many of us with a neurogenic bladder — including those of us with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, and other conditions — may require the use of a catheter in order to empty our bladders,” the association said. “Currently, there are approximately 1,300 types of catheters available in the marketplace. That gives us a good degree of choice and variety in selecting the catheter that is right for us. It can take years for us to find a product that works best for us, especially one that helps prevent health complications such as UTIs [urinary tract infections]. Similarly, for those of us with an ostomy or a tracheostomy, being able to get the supplies that best meet our individual needs is essential to ensure that we remain healthy and free of infections.”
If competitive bidding moves forward as described in the proposed rule, “This could artificially shrink the number of suppliers of catheters to seven for the whole country, likely resulting in many smaller suppliers going out of business and many products people rely on disappearing from the supply chain,” United Spinal said. “Ostomy and tracheostomy supplies would face similar fates.”
United Spinal’s advocacy resources now include a way for stakeholders to quickly and easily voice their concerns to their members of Congress.
Last week, the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) noted that Miller-Meeks and Meuser are especially looking for fellow House Republicans to sign their letter. The representatives said in the letter that the competitive bidding program described in the proposed rule “may conflict with [President Trump’s] directives on deregulation, trade and domestic industrial strength. We respectfully urge CMS to pause and reevaluate these provisions to ensure that they fully align with the administration’s goal of rebuilding American manufacturing, protecting Main Street businesses, and fostering innovation.”
