Home Health & Hospice Week

• The pitfalls of Medicare competitive bidding for durable medical equipment are getting some mainstream attention, thanks to efforts from the supplier community.

Bidding would drive up to 90 percent of suppliers out of business, reports Crain's Detroit Business newspaper. And delayed hospital discharges due to difficulty obtaining DME could drive up health care and Medicare costs, the business journal adds.

The National Hospital Coalition on Durable Medical Equipment, a grassroots organization of 85 hospital-owned DME suppliers, is fighting against the program. Bidding will end up favoring big national companies and putting small suppliers out of business, industry representatives tell the newspaper.