Dan Johnson & Jennifer Volpe – Ron Andrews Medical Equipment Company, Inc. In recent news, Medicare has been making major cuts to funding for agencies and companies who care for the elder population. This includes Durable Medical Equipment and Respiratory equipment reimbursements. In the desire to save Medicare money, CMS developed a competitive bidding system for companies who want to provide Medical equipment for patients. In theory, this was meant to save the government money while providing comparable service, however many patients living in the areas covered by this program are not receiving the equipment in a timely manner, if at all.

Competitive Bidding has already affected the San Francisco Bay Area, including Marin and southern Sonoma County and is expected to expand in 2016. Ron Andrews Medical Company currently services San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and Napa County. Dan and Jennifer talk about the experiences they have had in Marin and what agencies can expect as far as Medical and Respiratory equipment service for Sonoma County. HR1717 is discussed.