JACKSONVILLE, FL – Jerry Hall is a fighter, and last week he
expanded the boundaries of the battle against competitive bidding. “I am
hearing complaint after complaint after complaint from case managers,”
says Hall, president and owner, Hall-Moore Medical Supplies,
Jacksonville, Fla.
Hall responded by coordinating a meeting between Jacksonville area case managers and staff from the offices of Rep Ander Crenshaw (pictured far left with Jerry’s wife, Amanda, and Jerry), Sen Bill Nelson, and Sen Marco Rubio.
The hour-long meeting was set up so that local hospital and rehab
center employees could explain the daily problems they have faced since
the bidding program began in July.
“It takes a lot to get nurses
and case managers to make calls to legislators,” explains Hall. “When
they have a problem, they don’t necessarily sit on the phone for 10
minutes to make a complaint, they are just aggravated with the whole
program. They may have 5 to 10 issues a day with different patients
concerning competitive bidding, so my idea was to coordinate a meeting
with the staff of the Senate offices and local Reps’ offices.”
Hall
agrees that Congress needs to hear more from Medicare beneficiaries,
but he also hopes the case managers can tell their stories through
avenues such as People for Quality Care and direct calls/meetings with
legislators. At the level of his own business, Hall has cut working
space in half from 4,000 square feet to 2,000 square feet in an effort
to save money.
“We have also had several layoffs since July 1,
and we streamlined everything trying to survive,” he says. “I feel
optimistic about replacing competitive bidding. In my area, I don’t see
how this could go on. I want to motivate others to do something. We
can’t sit here with our heads in the sand and hope that somebody will
save the day for us. We need to all get out there and start doing
something.”