ATLANTA – My advocacy started when competitive bidding started. Two of my counties were included in round two of competitive bidding. When that first occurred, we all did not know what was going to happen. I went to DC and met with the late Senator Robert Byrd [died 2010] and our Reps who were up there at the time.
At that point, I realized that they really did not know a lot about what was going on. Their staff was a lot of young people, and while that is ok, I wondered whether they would get the urgency—because HME is not something that affects their lives. In many ways, the whole process caught me off guard. I guess I thought everybody in DC knew about what was going on, but they don’t. That kind of opened my eyes.
In those early days, nobody else wanted to do it, so a couple companies and I started going to Washington, DC. I saw the cuts coming, and I knew long term that I could potentially lose my business. We wanted to keep our patients. We know them and we wanted them to have the best care.
Eventually I saw that basically how it works is that you must be the squeaky wheel. So I thought I’m going to keep going until someone starts listening. Eventually I joined VGM, and John Gallagher and Tom Powers were awesome. They gave me a lot of input on issues and coached me. AAHomecare has also given us a lot of information. I admit there are times when you want to throw your hands up and walk away, because CMS continues to keep doing stuff to us.
We need to speak up for what is right, and that means learning and staying inspired. With that in mind, I try to go to Medtrade or Medtrade Spring once a year. You are able to network and meet people from other areas, and in some instances you are experiencing the same problems. Or you see things on the horizon that you can get ahead of. Medtrade gives you the foresight to look ahead and see what is happening. Sitting in the educational sessions can bring up things we had not even thought of.
Last year when I went to the educational sessions, they were really helpful and I leaned several things I did not know. On the show floor, it helped me discover different products to bring in to my business directly through things I saw at Medtrade.
You can get so down and out in this business. It’s always stressful and it’s good to talk to others in the industry and vent your frustration. It’s great to have some fun while you’re there, learn something, and reset your mind to do business and ultimately go fight Medicare again. It’s a great place to network and see products in person, all of which you can’t get online.
Regina Gillispie is president and owner of Best Home Medical in West Virginia. She has been named the 2018 Van Miller Homecare Champion, and will be officially honored at the Stand Up for Homecare reception at Medtrade in Atlanta on Oct. 16.
Register for Medtrade 2018.
