The whole object of education is to develop the mind. The mind should be a thing that works.
Sherwood Anderson
Education seems to be in America the only commodity of which the customer tries to get as little he can for his money.
Max L. Forman
They say that we are better educated than our parents' generation. What they mean is that we go to school longer. They are not the same thing.
Douglas Yates
Our schools have been progressively "dumbed down" for many years. Instead of expecting those behind to make an effort and reach up, we make things easier for them so they don't get any complexes about themselves. In the process, we create ignorance, encourage stupidity, and reward laziness.
Our expectations get lower and lower with every generation.
I was lucky to have gone to school in an excellent system at a time when students were expected to perform and faced consequences if they didn't. It was right before the bleeding hearts managed to get control of (and ruin) the system; if you failed a grade you got held back. These days failing students are passed for social reasons, and they walk away from the system as ignorant as they were when the entered it.
It's a sorry state of affairs that needs to be fixed.
There are those out there who went through a more rigorous educational system than exists today, and seem to have slept through it. I owe my ability to communicate well to my school days, and there are contemporaries (or near-contemporaries) of mine writing things that are so bad I'm almost in shock when I read them. I've complained before about the barely literate ramblings of some people; it's happened again (at least twice in a one-week period), and I simply can't stop myself from directly commenting and correcting.
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
As I've said before, I get a lot sent to me by readers of this blog, and I appreciate it more than you know. Some of it keeps me informed, some of it puzzles me, some of it makes me angry at the state of the industry, and some of it makes me cry with laughter (which isn't always a good thing, as you're about to see).
How many times, readers, have I grumbled about the sub-literate stuff coming out of TAHCS? I know that some of their board members read this blog; that they don't respond is something that I prefer to interpret as a sign that they have a hair more sense than Rob Brant (whose response to one of my posts ended up being more grist for my mill and he really should have known better).
The first recent TAHCS item forwarded to me was an announcement about their upcoming conference, something they proclaim is "A must attend Event" in the headline that should have been "A Must-Attend Event." The inconsistent capitalization and missing punctuation warned me, but I read it anyhow.
They start out with "TACHS Sponsors" in bold, but list no one. Interesting. They tell us that it's "October 18th in Dallas at the Crown Plaza Hotel" but fail to end that sentence with a period. They also failed to spell the name of the hotel correctly. Brilliant.
It continues with this:
"The latest LoneStar Education event will incorporate up to date news from Washington and Austin regarding Medicare and Medicaid, Audits Updates, political insight, billing information, power wheelchair changes and much more.
The day long event, which includes lunch, will host some of America's top speakers on issues facing Medical equipment providers today.
We invite you to attend.
Dallas, Texas at the Crown Plaza Hotel on I-35.
Do not wait!
Do not miss this opportunity, and for such a great price, $99 for the day, including lunch."
Here's what it probably should have said:
The latest LoneStar Education event will incorporate up-to-date news from Washington D.C. about Medicare and from Austin about Texas Medicaid, an update on audits, political insight, billing information, power wheelchair changes, and much more.
This day-long event, which includes lunch, will host some of America's top speakers on issues facing medical equipment providers today.
Don't miss this opportunity, which at $99, includes lunch.
It might sound like a bargain, but I've had enough hotel food to know better than to be excited about lunch. Here's something else that troubles me: Nowhere in that announcement did they identify who these "top speakers" are. They want you to pay $99.00 without telling you who's speaking? Their idea of "top speakers" and my idea of "top speakers" are almost guaranteed to be poles apart.
TAHCS is going to give an update on what's going on with Texas Medicaid? That should be very informative, considering the fact that they didn't seem to show up for the MCAC meeting held in Austin on September 9th.
Yes, they were present at the competitive bidding hearings in D.C. last week, and made sure that everyone knew they were there, but they didn't do anything. Being seen is not necessarily evidence of being useful.
Considering the fact that TAHCS touts itself as the association for DMEs in Texas, they're offering almost nothing in leadership (or action) on key state issues. The presence of TAHCS in D.C. was a typical (and gratuitous) "look at us we're here" move; we should all be used to those by now. But not participating in the MCAC meeting in Austin when a potentially devastating procurement initiative looms?
And they're going to give people an update on it? They can't be serious.
The conference-announcement mail ends with this gem (the TACHS text is in regular face, and my comments are in italics within parenthesis):
"Dear Medical Equipment Provider,
You know well that there are still many threats to our industry, (colon here please, not a comma) Medicare's competitive bidding, audits from RAC, ZPIC and CERT, Medicaid Audits, oxygen caps, mobility payments, even PECOS and now our State's budget crisis threatens our payments (is there a reason they can't capitalize consistently and correctly?).
In order (delete "In order") to better control our destiny (destinies, guys; you're talking about more than one here) as businesses and as an industry, we need to be educated (a truer thought has never been expressed; they do need to be educated) and organized. To increase awareness, education, and industry unanimity (considering the TAHCS attitude toward MESA, it's my firm opinion that this organization should be the very last one to attempt to claim to promote industry unanimity; that's so hypocritical it's ridiculous), we are hosting once again hosting (do you need to use the word "hosting" twice in this sentence?) the LONESTAR HME Conference.
This event, sponsored by the Texas Alliance of Home Care Services (TAHCS) (you're missing a comma here) will provide you (you're missing the word "with" here) important information on how to make your business stronger and more secure.
(No one has information on how to make a business stronger and more secure if one's business is threatened by procurement programs and initiatives; there is no magic pill for what ails the industry.)
Once again the LoneStar HME Conference will be held at the Dallas Crown Plaza Market Center Hotel. This one-day event will bring together top professionals in various fields who will present topics including, but not limited to, the following:
* Competitive Bidding
* Medicare's Latest Changes
* ZPIC/RAC Audits
* Governmental Affairs Update
* DME Manufacturer/Supplier Lawsuits
* Texas Legislative Update in Health Care
* Effective Lobbying of HR 3790
* Choice of Business Entity for DME Supplies
* Proactive Chart Documentation"
Their list of topics could be covered in half of a day.
I was actually prepared to overlook their conference announcement, but I got the mail below forwarded to me today, and aside from how badly written it is, I took issue with some of what was said in it. Again, the TACHS text is in regular face, and my comments are in italics within parenthesis:
The situation regarding Competitive Bidding is clearly unviable (considering the fact that the program hasn't been implemented, it's impossible to say that something doesn't have a chance of success with any accuracy). Over the past year, and confirmed in the Energy and Commerce Hearings last week, Congress recognizes that the program was improperly thought out, poorly executed and will likely be a complete disaster for our HME businesses, and patients and Medicare itself. (Put any spin on the hearings last week that you like, but if Congress recognizes that the program is likely to be a disaster, why aren't they putting a stop to it?)
We know we will win and repeal the program, the question is when?. (Will you win before or after you learn to use the English language and punctuation properly?)
Congress is dragging its feet on both sides of the isle and on both sides of the capital dome. (Why are they dragging their feet if, as you insist, they've confirmed that competitive bidding is a bad thing?) Congress is reluctant to move any legislation in this political environment of looming elections. (Looming elections are now a political environment?) A passed bill can give one side credit (you mean it can give one side more political advantage than another) over another, or can create a vehicle for an opponent to create a new opposition piece prior to the November vote. (This is elementary politics. Everyone knows this.)
The result is that our federal legislature is at a stand still (put a hyphen between those two words), doing so little work it is hard to prove they are even in business. (Your expert activism hasn't fixed this yet?)
Our repeal bill is no exception to this scenario. HR 3790 is supported by the vast majority of House members (255 co-sponsors is barely half; it certainly isn't a "vast majority") and there is a definite base of support in the Senate (There's so much support in the Senate that you can't even find someone to introduce a companion bill, let alone get majority sponsorship for it.), but no one in Washington can or will guarantee the bill's passage prior to recess. We will utilize those contacts and supporters, along with other information and challenges raised in the different committee hearings, to have the bill attached to a must pass (put a hyphen between those two words) bill in November. (If the industry has as much support as you're implying, this shouldn't be necessary. Even so, you're going to face companion-bill issues, so this tactic might just backfire on the industry.)
After the elections, no matter the outcome, Congress will come back in session, a "lame duck" session, to finish unfinished business before Christmas, such as passing the "Doc Fix" bill. That or other legislation can serve as the tool to which we attach HR 3790 to gain passage and repeal the program prior to the implementation of Round 1. With the energy of our efforts, our government contacts and the information we raise, we can be successful at this. (You're doing nothing and saying nothing that hasn't been done and said before, and implementation of round one is practically around the corner.)
The worst case (place a hyphen between those two words) scenario is that Round 1 will be implemented for a few weeks or months. The problems with the program that we predicted will be revealed and Congress will be forced to repeal it. One way or the other we will win this fight, but the question is still when? (If you think that the "problems" you've "predicted" will reveal themselves within a few weeks or months, I have a bridge I'd like to sell to you. I'm for optimism, but I'd like a dose of realism included.)
Because we cannot be assured of the timing, it is imperative that everyone ready their company and patients for a change if it comes after January 1, 2010 (you mean 2011, right?). Grandfathering will allow companies to stay in business (at the new rates,) sub contracting (I give up on TAHCS and hyphens) is an option, working with Medicaid and insurance companies offer options and for some, straight retail is effective. No matter your plan of action to preserve your business, make it.
One great resource may be attending state association meetings and education events to learn insight that can help you hang on until victory is achieved. (I'm told that MESA does two fabulous events each year, both of which are held in Texas.)
Know that we are doing all we can, KNOW THAT WE WILL WIN.
We as an industry cannot stop in our efforts; phone calls, emails, faxes, meetings with congress people etc. All this needs to take place to ready our elected officials to support us in the "lame duck" session and beyond. We cannot lose our focus, our energy nor our commitment to our businesses. We advocate readiness.
We will win this battle and revel in success as will save Access to Care for 40 million Medicare beneficiaries while preserving the most cost effective industry in history....Home Care!
Ugh.
Did I point out all of there errors? No. There are just too many to name and correct, and just so many hours in the day.
For or Against?
I'm for finding a workable solution that serves the interests of all; yes, even those of CMS.
But I'm against presenting the situation the way TAHCS does. I have no doubt that the board of TAHCS and their (few) members really want to do away with competitive bidding. What I object to are the methods they employ and the sub-literate (and sub-standard) presentation. I know that I take someone far more seriously who is polished and well-spoken. And, if someone is presuming to inform, educate, and represent me and my interests with legislators, I expect them to communicate like professional adults (not send things out that make me cringe).
As is the case in so many industries and in much of life, image is everything. If you look and sound credible, you're more likely to be listened to and believed.
It's not okay to come across as ignorant. And TAHCS, your ignorance is showing (still).
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