Latest / OneLegUpAlex Media / Hands Off Our Medical Supply Brands ! 10-16-26

Transcript

Hands Off Our Medical Supply Brands ! 10-16-26 · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Here's your host, Alex Garrett.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Alright, there is a major win this Ostomy Awareness Month
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: here on the adapting side of One Leg Up Alex Media.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: I think I've told you about.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: The trip to the DDNC if you've followed this podcast
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: long enough.
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: You know I went to Washington last year in March
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: of 2025.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: And Though this wasn't one of the acts that we actually.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Rallied for or advocated for, this one is worth noting
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: because on October 9th, last Friday, according to Janine Gleba,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: the advocacy manager who I mentioned many times before, Bill
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: HR 10787, the Access to Medical Supplies.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Act, was... Introduced.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: To Congress by Greg Murphy, a Republican in North Carolina,
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: and Representative Brad Schneider, rep from Illinois, Democrat from Illinois.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: So I'm telling you here at the One Leg Up
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: Alex Media Center, the Access to Medical Supplies Act is
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: necessary because it provides a practical path forward to address
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: the concerns of.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: Central to our advocacy efforts for the.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: CMS ruling that includes ostomy supplies in Medicare's competitive bidding system.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: Rather than permanently.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Exempting ostomy and neurological supplies from competitive bidding, the legislation
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: would argue, would provide a five-year delay on competitive bidding
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: for ostomy and neurological supplies. As I mentioned before, and
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: actually I was talking to.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: A friend of mine shared the other night that.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: If we allow our supplies to be up for bid,
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: meaning a doctor or a doctor can say, well, we
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: can't take this supply company, but we'll give you this one.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: It is an adjustment and it's an unnerving one because
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: people are very comfortable with the supplies.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: That they have and the companies they use.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: So this will provide a five-year delay on competitive bidding
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: for ostomy and neurological supplies from January 1, 2028 through
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: December 31, 2032. This bill also establishes a technical expert panel.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: meaning patients, caregivers, clinicians, reimbursement experts, suppliers, and manufacturers evaluate
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: the impact of competitive bidding and recommend appropriate safeguards.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: CMS is to.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Conduct a limited demonstration in no more than three states
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: over 12 months to assess the effects of competitive bidding
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: on beneficiary access and health outcomes before broader implementation. And
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: most importantly, protect patient access and product choice. We should
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: be able to choose the brand we want, the product
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: we want.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: And that's a comfort level thing.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: I think especially for those with ostomies and catheters, a
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: comfort level thing I know personally for sure.
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: It's just amazing.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: I was talking about this at dinner the other night.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: And I was explaining exactly this. And now there's a
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: bill that.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Was introduced a week ago. ESP anybody? I don't know.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: But the protect patient access and product choice by establishing
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: safeguards to ensure beneficiaries can obtain the same or clinically
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: comparable products they need by prohibiting contract suppliers from pressuring
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: beneficiaries to switch brands.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: Switching brands would be detrimental.
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: I remember going to Senator Booker's office and even Senator
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: Schumer's office and holding up my Convitec ostomy and saying,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: this ostomy.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Is my comfort. Like, I need this ostomy.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: I do not want to switch brands.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: I don't want to have to switch brands because my
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: supplier is in cover by my doctor.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Like, that would not be good.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: And if I'm saying that, a million Americans are going
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: to be affected too. So if you're listening to this,
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: adapting with Alex Garrett or one leg of Alex Media,
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: join us and take action because Janine writes, we need
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: to get as many co-sponsors as possible.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: Hands off our medical supplies.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Is the message of this one. We need to get
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: as many co-sponsors as possible. Take action today. by contacting
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: your member of Congress in the House and urge them
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: to become a co-sponsor of H.R.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: 107-871. H.R. 107-871. Look, in Washington right now, all the.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Rage is that Zachariah got fired because she didn't look
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: ready to become.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Press secretary.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: But underneath all of that news craziness, there is this.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: There is this threat constantly that those with ostomies, that
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: those with catheters, that those with any medical supplies could
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: be forced to switch brands.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: And we don't want that at all.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: I like my Convitec ostomy supplies. I like my Coloplast products.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Don't take those away from me because you can't get
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: it covered. Find a way to get it covered. Hands
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: off our brands. That's the message.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: So join us. I'm going to put the action link
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: in the description below.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: But if you would kindly, as a friend, as family,
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: and as someone who cares about people with disabilities, if
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: you would kindly, or different abilities, if you would kindly
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: call today, And urged them to become a co-sponsor of
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: this bill.
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: And Janine writes a very good point. A very good point.
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: It is midterms.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: And what a way to say, hey, ostomy wearers are
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: voters too. ostomy wearers are voters too. I'm going to
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: do a YouTube short on this too because it's important.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: As much as I love talking about the debriefing of
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: the Yankees and talking sports and the fact that Dodgers
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: are eliminated in four games and how that might save baseball,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: I also care about something like this. I also care
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: if my own supplies, if my peers with ostomy supplies
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: is threatened and We are very fortunate.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: We can.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: We can adapt if we had to. But there are
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: some that just can't. Especially when it comes to this,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: in this realm. We can all adapt, but there are
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: some that just can't really feel comfortable with something new.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: So why make them make the choice? I have to
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: make the choice. Help save our choices. Hands off our brands.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: And that's my message here at One Link of Alex Media.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Link in the description below.