Something else to consider
Russ Lefave
Description
Collection
Title:
Something else to consider
Creator:
Russ Lefave
Date:
3/10/2004
Text:
As a long time orthotic manufacturer and supplier to an industry that I
have both great respect and appreciation for I would like to add my
voice to the ongoing discussion. Like you, I have read with great
interest the many emails that have been generated. Most I think have
been written from the heart. Some with cool and penetrating logic. And
some from great anger and frustration. But ALL who have expressed their
individual opinions clearly have the best interest of our industry at
heart. I am proud to be a member of an industry that can bring such
emotion to the surface. I would like to say however that from my point
of view, as important and compelling as these recent issues being
discussed are, it would be a mistake to not look at the bigger O&P
reimbursement picture. It's clear that our industry is under attack. It
is not only under attack by all the quarters discussed here over the
past week or so, but under a less evident source as well. Consider this.
This country is fighting a war on terror. It doesn't matter what your
politics are, this war is happening right now and it's being waged all
over the world. I believe that this is a battle that we will reluctantly
continue to fight for a long time to come. How is this relevant to O&P?
Think about the truly vast amounts of money the federal government is
spending to counter this threat. Money and treasure that ordinarily
would be spent on among other things, increasing the financial health of
social programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Is it just coincidence that
in roughly three years we have gone from meaningful federal budget
surpluses to enormous budget deficits? It's not just O&P reimbursements
that are being cut but many other areas of federal spending. Take a look
at what the President said recently about Social Security cuts. A sacred
cow like Social Security being openly talked about being cut?
Unbelievable! Until recently political suicide for any politician to
utter. Anyway, I'm not saying that there is any kind of conspiracy or
anything like that going on here. All I'm saying is that cuts in
reimbursements are a reality that we are all trying to deal with as best
we can. And it doesn't take a crystal ball to realize that deeper cuts
are inevitable. The point is this, it is the increasing financial stress
that we are all feeling that is a major underlying point of contention
vis a vis the ABC/BOC discussion. Anyone that has been in the industry
for any length of time at all knows that there is a hell of a lot less
money to go around than there used to be. Think about the finical
pressure we are all under and then ask yourself what this current
argument is really all about. Bring this issue out in the open and look
at it. Guys, we have to unite. To my way of thinking there is really no
other option. How we all unite is completely secondary to the fact that
our industry must absolutely begin to fight for it's survival with a
united front. Even then, an argument can be made for the very real
possibility that our little industry may still not survive as we now
know it. And that would be a shame.
Russ Lefave
Sky Medical Inc
have both great respect and appreciation for I would like to add my
voice to the ongoing discussion. Like you, I have read with great
interest the many emails that have been generated. Most I think have
been written from the heart. Some with cool and penetrating logic. And
some from great anger and frustration. But ALL who have expressed their
individual opinions clearly have the best interest of our industry at
heart. I am proud to be a member of an industry that can bring such
emotion to the surface. I would like to say however that from my point
of view, as important and compelling as these recent issues being
discussed are, it would be a mistake to not look at the bigger O&P
reimbursement picture. It's clear that our industry is under attack. It
is not only under attack by all the quarters discussed here over the
past week or so, but under a less evident source as well. Consider this.
This country is fighting a war on terror. It doesn't matter what your
politics are, this war is happening right now and it's being waged all
over the world. I believe that this is a battle that we will reluctantly
continue to fight for a long time to come. How is this relevant to O&P?
Think about the truly vast amounts of money the federal government is
spending to counter this threat. Money and treasure that ordinarily
would be spent on among other things, increasing the financial health of
social programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Is it just coincidence that
in roughly three years we have gone from meaningful federal budget
surpluses to enormous budget deficits? It's not just O&P reimbursements
that are being cut but many other areas of federal spending. Take a look
at what the President said recently about Social Security cuts. A sacred
cow like Social Security being openly talked about being cut?
Unbelievable! Until recently political suicide for any politician to
utter. Anyway, I'm not saying that there is any kind of conspiracy or
anything like that going on here. All I'm saying is that cuts in
reimbursements are a reality that we are all trying to deal with as best
we can. And it doesn't take a crystal ball to realize that deeper cuts
are inevitable. The point is this, it is the increasing financial stress
that we are all feeling that is a major underlying point of contention
vis a vis the ABC/BOC discussion. Anyone that has been in the industry
for any length of time at all knows that there is a hell of a lot less
money to go around than there used to be. Think about the finical
pressure we are all under and then ask yourself what this current
argument is really all about. Bring this issue out in the open and look
at it. Guys, we have to unite. To my way of thinking there is really no
other option. How we all unite is completely secondary to the fact that
our industry must absolutely begin to fight for it's survival with a
united front. Even then, an argument can be made for the very real
possibility that our little industry may still not survive as we now
know it. And that would be a shame.
Russ Lefave
Sky Medical Inc
Citation
Russ Lefave, “Something else to consider,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/222812.
