Home Health & Hospice Week

And, quick, get your user ID.

Home medical equipment suppliers who procrastinate about submitting their accreditation applications will be out of the Medicare bidding game.

Alert: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced at a Special Open Door For-um April 11 that suppliers submitting bids for Medicare's new competitive bidding program must be ac-credited or in the process of securing accreditation.

Suppliers must be either accredited or have accreditation "pending," said Joel Kaiser, CMS' deputy director of DMEPOS policy.

Bottom line: "CMS cannot accept a bid from any supplier that is not accredited or that has not applied for accreditation," the agency stresses.

Stay Tuned For Accreditation Deadline

During the forum, Kaiser added that "all suppliers in the 10 [competitive bidding areas] will have to be accredited before we enter into a contract with them."

CMS officials did not offer specifics about the accreditation deadline for suppliers with winning bids. But they did tell forum listeners to "look for more information on that issue."

Background: On April 2, CMS released the final rule governing Medicare's competitive bidding program for suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS). Soon after, the agency issued a series of announcements clarifying issues raised in the rule and offering more specifics on related deadlines.

Right now: HME providers interested in bidding, for example, must go online to secure a CMS-issued user ID and password.

With bidding expected to begin by the end of April, that leaves suppliers with only a matter of weeks to queue up for an ID and get ready to bid, notes Don Clayback of the MED Group, an association representing suppliers.

During the forum, Clayback asked CMS officials about "opportunities to modify the timeline" for program implementation.

CMS officials made clear that no extensions are likely.

"We do need to implement [Medicare's DMEPOS competitive bidding program] on April 1, 2008," said Martha Kessler, director of DMEPOS policy for CMS. Referring to the 60-day bid window set by CMS, Kessler said, "We believe that [the window] should provide the opportunity for suppliers to submit their bids."

Challenge for small suppliers: The quick implementation will be difficult for suppliers, industry insiders say. That's especially true for small suppliers likely to have the added step of networking and strategizing with other small suppliers before being able to submit an educated bid (see Eli's HCW, Vol. 16, No. 13).

CMS is "really setting the collective group of us up for failure," said Clayback, speaking at the forum.

Don't Overlook These Details

CMS also offered these clarifications during the Open Door Forum:

• Suppliers can find the precise items included in competitive bidding at the Competitive Bidding Contractor Web site (www.dmecompetitivebid.com).

Exempt: Items identified with nonspecific codes within the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System will not be included in competitive bidding. For example, K0108 (Other accessories) will be exempt in the complex rehab category.

• Suppliers having trouble securing a user ID and password may call 1-877-577-5331 for assistance.

• CMS will look at suppliers' most recent year of financial data to determine if they meet the $35 million gross revenues cut off for "small supplier" status.

• CMS has taken some steps to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to products of the same quality as those offered to patients with other insurance coverage. "We'll be looking for transparency" in terms of brands offered, noted Kessler.

Requirement: Suppliers must offer the same products to all customers--Medicare beneficiary and non-Medicare beneficiaries, CMS officials said.

Note: For the latest announcements on competitive bidding, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcq ForDMEPOS and www.dmecompetitivebid.com.