[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8010]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR CMS SERVICES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to address a 
situation that is evolving within this Nation where older adults on 
Medicare who have the misfortune of experiencing disease or disability 
and require durable medical equipment, equipment that is designed to 
allow people to live with dignity and independence in their own homes, 
we're seeing, through the actions of CMS, through Medicare, of 
preventing their access.
  Medicare is awarding contracts to companies who are not even licensed 
in States to do business. In the end, it's going to cause a terrible 
disconnect with people being able to access the equipment that they 
need.
  And not just the equipment. I spent 30 years working rehabilitation 
services as a therapist, rehab manager, and as a licensed nursing home 
administrator. I saw what difference this equipment makes, but also 
what the service makes, the technical assistance means for people who 
are living at home on oxygen or using wheelchairs or other types of 
medical equipment.
  In the evenings, I actually was a volunteer EMT and firefighter; and 
frequently I'd find myself in the middle of the night, pager would go 
off and I'd be out in the community, in neighbors' homes, and be able 
to witness firsthand how important that equipment is there.
  This week the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care 
and its members are in Washington to represent ancillary providers of 
products and services in the post-acute care industry. Now, as part of 
this work, these individuals will be garnering signatures on a letter 
that calls on CMS, Medicare Administrator Tavenner, to delay 
implementation of the widely criticized Medicare Durable Medical 
Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies Competitive Bidding 
Program.
  Now, this competitive bidding program--and believe me, it was 
misnamed when it was passed; there's nothing competitive about it--was 
intended to reduce Medicare costs, ensure that beneficiaries have 
access to quality services. In practice, the system denies competition 
while worsening access to quality goods and services and harming 
seniors.
  In many ways, their mission today in Washington reminds me of one of 
my favorite movies, and a piece of our history in this country, the 
Apollo 13 mission. The story of Apollo 13 is that what could have been 
the worst space disaster in history became one of NASA's most 
spectacular conquests.
  Everything had gone wrong. An oxygen tank exploded in the service 
module, damaged a nearby oxygen tank, and rocked the command and lunar 
modules. Mission controllers struggled to isolate the problems, with no 
success. The mission and the astronauts' lives were in jeopardy.
  To conserve power, the astronauts had shut all of the spacecraft 
systems down except the radio. The carbon dioxide rose to toxic levels, 
and crew members managed for 6 days with hardly any food, water, or 
sleep in freezing temperatures. There was clear danger the astronauts 
might not survive, but they did.
  Apollo 13 Flight Director Gene Kranz famously rallied his team to do 
what is necessary to get the astronauts home safely, declaring 
``failure is not an option.''
  One of NASA's greatest achievements had become not the next feat in 
space exploration, but the brilliant rescue of crew members aboard 
Apollo 13.
  Similarly, when it comes to competitive bidding, failure is not an 
option. CMS' competitive bidding is our damaged spacecraft. Individuals 
in need of durable medicine equipment for prosthetics or orthotics are 
the flight crew. They are in danger. We need competent technical 
support professionals working together to achieve our mission and bring 
this crew home safely.
  After years of bureaucratic delay and mismanagement, we're no closer 
to a system that works for both providers and beneficiaries--that would 
be the seniors of our Nation.
  Now, it appears providers are being awarded contracts by CMS to 
provide services for round two competitive bidding that lack the 
required licensing or accreditation for specific States in which 
they're supposed to service those seniors.
  I'm extremely concerned that mishandling of the bidding process is 
going to have a devastating impact on beneficiaries. This is a serious 
issue that warrants a full review of the process and a delay of round 
two until this fatally flawed program is fixed.
  For this reason, I encourage my colleagues to sign on to this letter 
to Administrator Tavenner requesting a delay through the end of the 
year so that we can have more time to review how round one was 
implemented and fix the problems that exist with the administration of 
the program.
  I'm proud to say that, as of today, we have 129 signatures from 
Members of the House of Representatives; and I encourage my colleagues 
who have not taken the opportunity to sign on to the letter to do so 
today.
  We need to replace this fatally flawed program with one that's not 
just labeled competitive, but is competitive and maintains beneficiary 
access to durable medical products and quality services.

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