Home Health & Hospice Week

June brings first deadline.

If you’re in the grips of phase one of Med-icare’s new competitive bidding program, don’t focus solely on your bid between now and the close of the bidding window. These competitive bidding concerns demand your immediate attention, too:

• Deadlines. The first deadline is fast approaching: Suppliers who wish to bid must obtain their Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) user ID and password no later than June 30.

Lucky 13: The bidding window closes on Friday, July 13. The last day to secure accreditation is Aug. 31.

On the horizon: Even if you are not in one of the 10 competitive bidding areas for phase one, consider that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may at any time issue a deadline for accreditation of all suppliers--not just those in areas affected by phase one.

• Subcontractors’ readiness. Be sure any subcontractors you may use are accredited or are pursuing accreditation. “Medicare’s intent is that everyone be accredited, and that includes suppliers’ subcontractors,” asserts Denise Fletcher, attorney with Brown & Fortunato in Amarillo, TX.

Some experts contend the DMEPOS competitive bidding final rule is ambiguous on mandatory accreditation for all subcontractors, but Fletcher says that’s a moot point. Suppliers who work with non-accredited organizations risk not only their standing with Medicare but also with their accrediting body.

The Accreditation Commission for Health Care, for example, requires that subcontractors be accredited, says Fletcher, who serves on ACHC’s board.

• Projected capacity. In order to complete this section of your application, you will need to supply: the total revenue collected in the competitive bidding area (CBA) in the past calendar year; the percentage of that revenue that came from Medicare; the total number of individuals served within the CBA; and the percentage of those who were Medicare beneficiaries.

In addition: For each HCPCS code on which you plan to bid, you’ll need to state the total number of products you provided in the past year in the CBA and the total number delivered to Medicare beneficiaries.

Bottom line: Keeping up may prove a challenge for some HME suppliers.

“Some companies are well on their way to preparing their bids, while others still can’t believe it’s here,” says Miriam Lieber of Lieber Consulting in Sherman Oaks, CA. v