Home Health & Hospice Week

Round one of competitive bidding is expected to cut Medicare's payments for durable medical equipment bid items by 32 percent, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says in a release about the program slated to begin in nine areas Jan. 1.

Bidding will strip more than $17 billion from Medicare's DME spending over 10 years, CMS crows. It will also reduce beneficiary spending by $11 billion, CMS estimates.

CMS has awarded 1,217 DMEPOS competitive bidding program contracts to 356 suppliers, the agency says. The contract suppliers have 662 locations.

"Fully 97 percent of contracts were awarded to suppliers already established in the competitive bidding area, the product category, or both," CMS maintains.

"Each of these contract suppliers has met our stringent standards, so beneficiaries can be assured they will receive their equipment and supplies from legitimate and quality suppliers at prices that are more in line with the current market," says CMS Administrator Donald Berwick.

Losing bidders will receive notification in the mail of the reasons why they lost out on the contract, CMS says in the release. The first nine bid areas are Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas,

Kansas City, Miami, Orlando, Pittsburgh, and Riverside. Bidding is scheduled to expand next year.