You can make a difference!

I saw a quote from Elbert Hubbard, an American author born in 1859. It is so appropriate today that I felt you also must see it: “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.”

Interesting that in 1859 citizens faced similar difficulties to what we do today. Things happen so quickly that by the time a dealer has adjusted to one, another appears. In the past 62 years many opportunities and difficulties have risen to the surface and I have watched how dealers get things done. The entrepreneurs adjust while the others are thinking, “what should I do.”

Via these blogs I have been showing original marketing ideas that DME/HME dealers have shared with me. One of the reasons I stroll the show room floor at Medtrade is to greet and chat with attendees. What has always fascinated me is how so many have coped with change. I report these in my blogs and will continue to do so. Please feel free to e-mail (shelly.prial@att.net) some of your accomplishments so that other DME/HME dealers will see them. In this fashion you will make a difference.

When I speak to dealers I always ask if they belong to their state and national associations. Invariably the answer is “yes, we do!” Yet it appears far too many DME/HME dealers do not. There are two national associations, AAHomecare and NAIMES, as well as the state DME associations. A dealer may think, “well it’s OK because they work for me whether I belong or not.” I have heard that comment often. It is wrong! You can make a BIG difference when you belong to your state and national associations. Your dollars will make them much more effective and maintain you in business!

When I discuss this with accountants or attorneys, they all agree that membership is a normal cost in operating a business. They indicate very specifically without the support and work these associations do on your behalf, you might find yourself forced to close. Make a difference¡ If you are not currently a member, please become one and then solicit the other providers and dealers you know to get on board. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Is There No End?

It seems that everyday in the newspapers we find reports of more and more fraud and abuse in the health care system. Yet since I know many dealers and providers, and communicate with their state and national associations, I will make the following statement: “Fraud and abuse does NOT come from providers, but from outside sources who take advantage of an antiquated system designed for reimbursement.”

The system is at fault, not the dealers or providers. According to an article this week (Associated Press) in 2011 the Feds found $4.1 BILLION dollars in health care fraud. That sounds like a great deal of money, but the next paragraph said that they estimated anywhere from 60 to 90 billion dollars a year was being siphoned out of the system.

The average DME/HME dealers are the hardest working proprietors who operate their companies honestly. They are not the culprits. They give away more service and care Pro Bono than any other industry. So what can be done to stop this thievery?

The first thing that has to be accomplished is that every dealer or provider has to earn a license. We have made great progress in that direction and now must go one step further. Accreditation is a fantastic step forward and those dealers who meet and maintain these standards are to be recognized.

It appears that fraud and abuse has become such a major “industry” with developing networks that operate for a few years, milk many dollars, and when uncovered they disappear. Many new “Jack, the Crook” operations are popping up. Why not? When Jack the Crook is discovered selling narcotics he goes to jail, but when he is caught stealing from Medicare, he closes his business and re-opens the next day with a different name. That being the case, the first step has to be earning a license to provide health care supplies, one which can be revoked or suspended.

Is there no end to fraud and abuse? We have to be diligent. We have to work with our state DME associations and support the national associations. At Medtrade this Spring, in Las Vegas, you can speak to all of them and sign on to fight for survival and keep out all the “Jack the Crook” operations.