Home Health & Hospice Week

Focus is protection for small players.

If you're worried that competitive bidding will cause your small business to crash and burn, a new lawsuit could be your best hope.

Attorneys in Cleveland, OH just filed the second major case against Medicare's competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS).

Waterloo, IA-based advocacy group Last Chance for Patient Choice and VGM are funding the lawsuit, filed Dec. 17 in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Ohio. Premier Medical Supplies Inc., a home medical equipment supplier based in Cleveland, is the plaintiff.

The Ohio case springs from the idea that CMS has not done all that Congress intended to "minimize disruption to small suppliers," explains attorney Amy Leopard of Walter & Haverfield, the Cleveland-based firm representing the plaintiff. In addition, it concerns the need for more transparency in the bidding process, so that the public knows what information CMS is considering in granting contracts.

"The patients who have volunteered for this lawsuit love their suppliers and clearly see how the bidding system will affect their access to care and caring providers," says Leopard.

An earlier court case filed in Texas also seeks to halt or delay competitive bidding.

The Texas litigation, filed June 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas by law firm Brown & Fortunato, challenges the constitutionality of competitive bidding and seeks a permanent injunction that would stop CMS from ever implementing it (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XVI, No. 38).

The Ohio case differs from the Texas case but complements it, says attorney Jeffrey Baird of Amarillo, TX-based Brown & Fortunato. The new case's focus is not constitutionality, but inadequate protections for small businesses, notes Leopard.

For details: To receive a copy of the complaint, send an email to yparsons@eliresearch.com with "hme litigation" in the subject line.