Patient Advocates Speak Out On Human Cost of Competitive Bidding

People for Quality Care has prepared another in a series of videos documenting the real world harm to Medicare beneficiaries from DME competitive bidding. 

The PFQC videos also highlight the economic costs of competitive bidding that result from longer hospital stays, more frequent hospital visits and lower quality medical outcomes because patients are not receiving receiving the equipment they need on a timely basis.  These very real financial costs to taxpayers are not factored into CMS or Congressional Budget Office calculations.

As the Patient Advocate in the short documentary below explains, CMS’ DME competitive bidding program has reduced patient access to needed medical equipment, particularly in rural and smaller suburban areas. 

Before competitive bidding, these less urbanized areas were served by smaller DME providers who specialized in meeting the equipment needs of the local communities.  Those smaller providers were swept away by competitive bidding, reducing patient access to needed, physician-prescribed medical equipment.

Please see the People for Quality Care documentary below and their video evidence to Congress on the harm from competitive bidding found here.