Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers and Competitive Bidding (1)

Video of a U.S. Government House Subcommittee hearing and question and answer session regarding the impact competitive bidding has on small companies in the business of supplying Durable Medical Equipment products and services.

In this, the first video in this series, former NFL quarterback-turned-Congressman Health Shuler (D-NC) delivers the opening statement for the Feb. 11, 2009 meeting of the House Committee on Small Business; Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and Trade.  The subcommittee hearing was focuesed on establishing what (if any) impact the practice of competitive bidding has on small Durable Medical Equipment suppliers.

Shuler discussed the way competitive bidding allows large companies to outbid smaller DME companies in rural areas that in most cases are far more knowledgable and qualified to be delivering the highly specialized products that in themselves require a depth of technical and industrial knowledge in order to achieve proper use and maximum effectiveness.

Shuler specifically talked about how Medicare contracts are currently structured in such a way as to favor inferior but much larger Durable Medical Equipment firms, thereby stifling competition, which results in fewer choices and higher prices.

The hearing occurred on February 11, 2009.  This video is part one of the video series documenting this Congressional subcommittee hearing.

Please feel free to share any thoughts or opinions you may have regarding this video in the comments section below.

Related Videos:

• Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers and Competitive Bidding (#2)
• Congressional Hearing on the Effects of Competitive Billing on Small DME Companies (#3)
• Durable Medical Equipment Bidding Practices  (#'s 4 & 5)

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