Home Health & Hospice Week

• Meanwhile, DME suppliers continue to fight against the competitive bidding program. In addition to a number of grassroots efforts to overturn bidding entirely, suppliers are supporting a "Dear Colleague" letter from Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Ralph Hall (R-Texas) that asks CMS to release a list of suppliers whose bids it used to calculate bid amounts.

The new bid amounts will cut 32 percent from DME payment rates, CMS has said. "Transparency of the re-bid process is critical given past problems [with] the process," insists the American Association for Homecare. Bidders may have bid too low in hopes of selling their winning contract business or due to inexperience, AAHome-care points out.