A new bill, known as the Access to Medical Supplies Act, has been introduced to Congress. It aims to remove urological and ostomy supplies from the competitive bidding process that other medical equipment goes through.

It's a response to a recent ruling by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that suppliers of ostomy and other medical products must compete on price.

Jay Witter is with AAHomecare, the industry trade group of medical suppliers. He says that the proposal to have these products compete on price had never been shown to be good for patients.

"The administration has really never explained fully how this is benefitting patients. They say there is going to be millions in savings. Some claim it will fight fraud. But I haven't heard a good argument that this is going to benefit patients," Witter said.

In fact, patients feared that their supplies would be lumped into a "one size fits all" situation. Ellyn Mantell of Boca Raton has had an ostomy for 12 years.

"We're not a one-size-fits-all situation. We are all different sizes and shapes, and we all have different needs. And it can take months –sometimes years—to find the pouching system that works, that allows us to be in the world," said Mantell.

The new legislation, HR 10787, was introduced October 9.

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