Competitive Bidding :
COMPETITIVE BIDDING STEAMROLLS
Published on Tue May 05, 2009
Suppliers must have accreditation, surety bonds to bid. Suppliers are in for the fight of their lives as the second coming of competitive bidding gets underway. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced a general timeline for durable medical equipment competitive bidding's relaunch this year. CMS will conduct "pre-bidding awareness and education" this spring, it says in a release. That includes the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee (PAOC) meeting taking place at press time. In the summer, CMS will require suppliers to register for bidding IDs and passwords. The agency will also release a more specific timeline and conduct bidding education. In the fall, suppliers will start the actual bidding process, CMS says. "If you are a supplier interested in bidding, prepare now -- don't wait!" CMS urges in the release. Suppliers should use this time to get accredited and obtain a surety bond, as required by Medicare, CMS [...]