We’re dropping a special bonus episode of the pod to address a developing issue that requires all of us to take action! The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have mandated that noninvasive ventilators (bipap) go through a competitive bidding process to set the price and award contracts to equipment companies (i.e. equipment companies submit bids on how much it will cost for an item; CMS takes the lowest bid and will only reimburse companies at that lowest price).  The problem with competitive bidding in this situation is that many companies will stop supplying the devices because they can no longer make money (or will lose money) by providing these.  This could make it incredibly difficult for individuals to get access to these devices and worse have access to a company close by that can repair them if something goes wrong. 

To send a letter visit: https://alsa.quorum.us/campaign/20341/

For a transcript of this episode visit our post on Tumblr.

This episode was produced by Garrett Tiedemann and is brought to you by the Connectivity Center at the ALS Association MN/ND/SD Chapter.