oandp.com

Hello Colleagues and Guests,

Yes, I'm still at it, albeit slowed a bit. As you can see from the
recent posts coming about Virginia Medicaid, the same auditing tactics
are evidently being implemented in the Title 19 Medicaid program. Folks,
this is just the tip of the iceberg and unless we carry out a
coordinated effort to repeal these unreasonable and unfair audits, the
O&P world as we have known it will be forever changed and that will not
be a good thing for those who need these services and it will not be a
good thing for families that rely upon work in the O&P Profession.

I received a letter today from the Small Business Administration telling
me that they have forwarded my September 28, 2012 letter to them on to
Medicare and that I will hear back from them as soon as Medicare
responds. I am posting the "text" of my letter to them on the
oandpsolutions.org website today (under documents and then SBA) and
it is my hope that others in the field will follow suit and write letters
disputing the claims and actions of the Medicare regulators. I assume
that some have done so already. These letters are important because they
help build a case that may be necessary in the event that some of us are
called to testify before congressional leaders.

Years ago, I witnessed first hand the changes that were coming in the
field of pharmacy and those changes were not all that good for the
pharmacy profession. They were good for stockholders of the larger
pharmacy chains of that day. If we are not careful, the O&P profession
will follow the same course that pharmacy did. Perhaps it is
unavoidable, but if that comes to pass, O&P as we know it today will
never be the same again and, like many physicians and pharmacists today,
we will work in a professional atmosphere that is not kind to our
methods of helping folks in the manner that we have been accustomed.

Just as I feel this is a defining moment in the history of our great
nation, I also feel it is a defining moment in the history of O&P here
in the United States. If we don't have the time or the energy to call
out those who actually work for us and hold them accountable for their
actions, then......... I suppose we are what we are.

Wil Haines, CPO
MaxCare Bionics
Avon, IN 46123