Home Health & Hospice Week

Suppliers' battle against competitive bidding is meeting more resistance from the feds.

Check out the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' latest piece of propaganda for the competitive bidding program at www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1007.pdf.

"Numerous studies by the Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office have found that the prices paid by Medicare for certain DMEPOS items are excessive --sometimes three or four times retail prices and the amounts paid by commercial insurers," CMS says in the MLN Matters article. "Clearly, Medicare needs a better way to pay for DMEPOS items."

The pitch: "Competitive bidding for DMEPOS is proven to save money for taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries while maintaining access to quality DMEPOS items and services," CMS claims. CMS is distributing a bidding "program preview" based on the MLN Matters articles to program partners. The document is at www.cms.hhs.gov/Partnerships/03_DMEPOS_Toolkit.asp.

One step further: "Medicare's current fee schedule rates for DMEPOS items are overpriced and based on outdated, inflated supplier charges from over 20 years ago," CMS says in a more pointed bidding notice sent to Medicare providers. "Competitive bidding among suppliers will establish new, lower Medicare payment amounts for DMEPOS items."

The bidding Program Advisory and Oversight Committee will allow an hour for public comments at its Feb. 23 meeting in Baltimore, according to the recently released meeting agenda at www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/downloads/PAOC_Agenda_022310.pdf.

The meeting's topics will also include contract supplier oversight and monitoring, education initiatives, and the Round 2 timeline, among other items. Registration is required to attend.