oandp.com

Hello Colleagues and Guests,

I have previously written about dealing with major O&P issues at the
local level of our federal government and have suggested that we, as
individuals, take the bull by the horns starting with our local federal
officials. This past Thursday, that process started for our company as
we prepared and presented case files to our local congressional staff. I
can assure you that this is only the tip of the iceberg. When Medicare
requires the O&P professional to be responsible for the documentation
that is in a physician's record, it is time to expose the ludicrous
fallacy of such action. When pre-payment and post-payment audits
threaten to bankrupt O&P facilities with ill-conceived administrative
regulations that do not make any sense, it is time to expose such ill
conceived policies to both our congressional leaders and the public at
large. When OIG reports misrepresent the facts regarding orthotic and
prosthetic services, it is time to divulge such information to our
congressional representatives and the public at large. That is exactly
what happened today here in Indiana. Our company may take a financial
hit because of our bold and courageous actions, but you can rest assure
that those responsible in government for making the decisions that are
wrong and ill conceived will feel the heat before this is all said and
done. There is an old adage or maxim that says "never pick a fight with
an old man...... why?...... because he'll kill you." That adage fulfills
and supports the wisdom that comes with "having gone around the horn"
more than once.

There are better solutions and procedures that Medicare and Medicaid can
use to ferret fraud and abuse out of the O&P field without "financially
raping" those who provide appropriate services for their clients. When
those in our field are found to be fraudulent or abusive, then let the
rule of law convene appropriately. But don't take the government's
failures out on the honest O&P professionals who are trying to do a good
and honorable job each day.

This note is being posted with hope that other O&P professionals
throughout the United States of America might be energized to get
involved with presenting the atrocities that are being dolled out to the
O&P profession by CMS (Medicare and Medicaid) to their congressional
representatives so that our voices might unite separately, but unified,
in the halls of Congress. It would also be nice if we had a common
website where appropriate documentation could be posted and drawn upon.
I think many of you may be surprised to learn about some of the
unauthorized regulations and policies that are apparently being
implemented by CMS with little or no notice. Frankly, our company cannot
fight this battle alone and succeed. But united, across the USA, we can
kick some serious you-know-what. Isn't it about time we stand up, defend
our rights, and help correct a major problem for which we are often
accused of being to blame when in fact most of us are, more times than
not, blameless?

I'm in the sunset years of my time in this profession and I'd like to
leave knowing that the mom and pop O&P facilities can survive with
reasonable assurance that they are being treated in a fair and equitable
manner. I know many of you can't wait until I go. Yes it is true that my
subterranean travel agent is asking me to make some personal
arrangements, but I told him that I still had a few things to accomplish
on my "bucket list" and I would get back with him at a later date. I'm
sure all he wants is the money anyway. In fact, I'm working on a new
invention in my spare time and he is not going to like it one bit. I've
developed a one-way sub-celestial travel launcher. It involves a 12 foot
paper tube like you see for pouring concrete into to make a concrete
pillar. The top 2 foot is capped with a metal point and loaded with
sulphur. The bottom 3 foot section is loaded with sulphur as well, along
with a fuse that connects the top and outside of the capsule. The middle
is filled with you-know-who. Yes I could get by with a 10 foot model
that is 4 foot in circumference rather than a 12 foot model. This entire
object is loaded into an appropriate metal cylinder, open at the top and
closed at the bottom. Point it in the direction you want your ashes to
land and have someone, perhaps your girlfriends husband, light the fuse.
Talk about going out with a bang!

Seriously, send me your thoughts about collectively petitioning our
federal legislatures at the local level. If Paul wants to provide a
"repository" for storing valid information regarding our situation, that
would be wonderful. Otherwise, I suppose I can do that. I developed a
dynamic database website for the "Haines" family ancestry and a copy of
that would work quite well for our purposes. In the meantime, some of
you might want to take a look at the following link and, in particular,
take a look at the "Regulatory Flexibility Act."

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/CMSSmallBusAdminOmbuds/index.html



Wil Haines, CPO
MaxCare Bionics
Avon, IN 46123