Chris' Blog: News and politics

Love'em and Leave'em Marketers

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:39:22 GMT

Why is it that the Executive Director of NRRTS Simon Margolis continues to put down members of NRRTS? Today I read the most recent issue of HME News and there is Mr. Margolis talking about the “Love’em and leave’em marketers”. He makes it sound once again that all companies that use mass media to market their company and/or products are all the same and conduct their business the same. I recently responded to a posting he placed were he refer to these companies as “The Machine”. He continues to draw attention to the companies that do mass media as the problem with the industry and while doing this he betrays companies that are Friends of NRRTS.

I for one have had enough. Mr. Margolis if you want to talk about these companies than be man enough to mention the companies by name. Don’t hide and lump all companies that use mass media in the same boat because we are not all the same. I agree with part of what you said and posted that in a recent blog entry that you can view at http://mymobilitymatters.spaces.live.com/ . I stated that companies like Pride, Invacare, Sunrise, Permobil, Balder and others need to help stop what is very apparent with some companies. We need to stop leaving regulatory issues up to the government and regulate our selves. One of the ways to do this is by exposing companies like the Scooter Store that sells a chair to an ALS patient, the drop shipping of chairs by companies like Mobility Products Unlimited and so on. Don’t lump all mass media companies in the same boat because when you do that don’t forget to mention United Seating & Mobility that has run ads in the past. As a former employee of NSM it appears to me and others that everything you say comes right out of the NSM playbook seeing that you are a former employee of NSM and many of the current and former NRRTS board members are NSM employees.

If I remember correctly were you not on some of the committees that worked on the code changes? It was right after that that all these different codes had allowable and the allowed amounts continue to drop.

I know that I will come under attack for what I am saying but it’s the truth. I have always had a lot of respect for Mr. Margolis until he starts putting me in the same league as these other companies because the company I work for advertises via mass media. If you really want to make a change start using mass media and you will take more customers from the companies that are doing it all wrong. Scooter America and American Seating & Mobility have worked to develop a process to ensure that each customer receives the equipment they NEED. We do not just sell chairs to be selling chairs. We do not drop ship chairs and we service what we sell. We have local office in the areas we advertise and if the customer requires a rehab chair they get a rehab chair spec’ed out by a RESNA certified ATS or RTS that is supervised by an ATS. Our current RTS’s are all taking the ATS exam and we will be in compliance with the CMS regulations. I feel the CMS is only regulating our industry due to our failure to regulate ourselves and companies billing for chairs they didn’t provide and other horror stories we have all heard.

I am a no nonsense kind of person and am willing to speak out. Others need to stop huddling around the water cooler and let their voice be heard. Our company is a friend of NRRTS Mr. Margolis and when you release a statement you need to ensure that you are speaking for everyone who supports NRRTS. If these are your personal views that leave NRRTS out of it.

Chris Bennett,ATS

Wasteful Spending

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:12:12 GMT

Well it was nice to see some new viewers today. I am going to take a break from product ratings today and discuss something that affects each and everyone of us and that is wasteful spending that is going on in Washington. I would venture to say that our government has spent several millions of dollars investigating steroids in professional sports. Who care about it. We all know that professional athletes are using them but why are we spending millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to investigate it. Take that money and fund Medicare, Medicaid, Cut Taxes or send the equipment our troops. Our President recently spoke about "Pork Barrel" spending and yet our elected officals in Washington continue to waste millions and millions of dollars that would benefit folks on Medicare. Medicare continues to cut rembursements and cut other vital healthcare projects and it because of this wasteful spending. I don't know about you but let the sports leagues regulate themselves. All of these athletes know the effects of these types of drugsand if they continue to use them, they get what they deserve. I am sick and tired of talking to customers that are having benefits cut, having to decide between equipment and food or having to miss out on vital nursing visits because Medicare won't cover these visits.

I spoke with a customer the other day who is trying to get skilled nursing visits for her husband and she was told to either divorce her husband so he could get Medicaid or put him in a nursing home and then he would be able to get the skilled nursing visits he needs. I see customers who need standing frames to prevent broken bones and increase bowel and bladder fuction but Medicare views a standing frame as a luxury item. If the wasteful spending was stopped and the elected officals focused on what this country really needs, we would be alot better off.

I listen to those running for president and they are all talking about change but no on is really saying what they will change. We need to send a clear message as what types of change we expect. We need to talk to ourelected officals and tell them to either stop the wasteful spending or we won't vote them in for another term. If there was ever a time to take a stand, It's NOW. There are a number of groups that are holding different events in Washington. We need to support these events but we also need to be on the ground in our local areas talking to our elected officals and demand change. Get your customer together and tell them what is going on in Washington, get them involved. Our customers are some of the folks that are being hurt the worst. The drug companies and the lobbyist that lobby for the doctors and hospitals have alot more money to lobby than we do. Our work needs to be done on the ground. My elected officals that are in Washington all have a local office. Find those offices, go meet their staff in those areas, set up a town hall style meeting so they can meet your customers and those affected by these cuts. Keep the focus on the customer and give your customers a voice. Don't sit by and wait for those in Washington to do something about it. We all have heard the statement, " If you do the same thing all the time you will get the same result all the time". What I saying is if we continue to sit by and not fight for our customers we will continue to have funding cuts for equipment while the other areas of Medicare get funding increases. You can make a difference and the time to act is NOW.

Please send your feed back. I see a number of manufactures are viewing this blog, customers or end users are viewing this blog and so are local dealers. Tell everyone what you are doing, send ideas, tell us all about new ideas. All the vendors that are view this blog have government relations staff, have them send feed back to this blog, we need to stay up on what is going on and what we can do to make a change.

Chris

Election Day

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:59:10 GMT

Well today was a rainy election day in Missouri. I hope each and everyone voted as voting is very important to ensure our industries voice is heard. If you have seen the industry update from VGM and US Rehab you know that once again our industry is under attack. President Bush has budget cuts in the budget and they will have serious impacts on the customers we serve. We have got to have a stronger voice in Washington and one way to strengthen our voice is voting. We also have got to come together and let our voice be heard by those in office. The lobby groups that are employed by the physicians, the drug companies and the hospitals have more money than we have, they have private jets to fly the elected officals all over the world, the ability to wine and dine and at the end of the day we all suffer. The DME budget is approximately 4 percent of the Medicare budget but it seems to get cut the most. We have got to come together to fight these cuts. I will lay out some proposed plans later and we will work on this issue.

Here in the new furture we will be rolling out our website and talking about a number of things relative to our business in our newsletter. I recently asked for feed back so we can ensure we are providing the information you want and need. The last thing we need is another website that talks about alot of stuff but doesn't provide the tools you need, the information you need and the information the customer needs to ensure they get the equipment they need. Information is power and we want to empower each person that visits our website. I have had a busy last four days or so and apologize for not providing a new entry. I will do my best to keep up but please reply to the blog so I know you are reading and provide feed back as to how we can make things better.

Chris

Redirecting Our Energies

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:07:49 GMT

I was emailed a press release or a comment sent by Simon Margolis, Excutive Director of NNRTS. He was talking about companies that advertise on mass media. When I read the comments he implies that all compaines that advertise via mass media are all the same and that is just not true. Some companies that advertise via mass media are providing equipment the right way, employ RESNA certified ATS's and use the mass media as a way to generate new revenue the same as any other business'. I am employed full time by a company that advertises in several media markets. We have standards that we follow when a customer calls our call center. Their basic information is gathered and when reviewing their medical condition and diagnosis, a decision is made as whether they are automatically referred to a RESNA certified ATS or whether to send a consumer power wheelchair specialist that is mentored by an ATS. When the consumer power representative goes to the customers home and if there is any issue that would require the customer to have a rehab chair, the ATS is called in for further evaluation.

I in no way agree with drop shipping power wheelchair's and other types of assistive technology to a customers home. But before you refer to the "machine" use companies that are using advertising the proper way as a model. We have worked for the last few years to develop a model that ensures the customer recieves the equipment they need and not just a power wheelchair for the sake of revenue. Do some slip through the cracks, sure they do but we are here to correct any issue that arises. Companies that use the media the way we are would do well to use the media to put their business' out there and get some of the exposure that the "machine" is getting. We fully support the rehab carve out but we also recognoze that there is a part of the population that only requires a consumer power product. If you want to combat the "machine" beat them at their own game. Design a commerical that shows your customers, allow the customer to talk about your company in their own words and showcase your company. The cost of advertising is less per lead than some of the lead generation avenues companies are currently using.

I fully support being RESNA certified to provide rehab assistive technology but do not support the view that Simon mentioned. Do not label all companies who use media as the "machine", it's smart business when done right.

Chris Bennett, ATS