Home Health & Hospice Week

Meanwhile, feds offer intensive orientation and training for the program. Suppliers waiting on pins and needles for the onset of competitive bidding now have a firm deadline for the program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin accepting bids for durable medical equipment in nine metro areas starting Oct. 21, CMS's Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) says on its Web site. The bid window will be open for 60 days and CMS will announce the bid rates and begin contracting with suppliers in June of next year, the CBIC says. The program will go into effect in January 2011. Start next week: Suppliers can begin signing up for bid system user IDs and passwords Aug. 17, CMS estimates. There are a few changes from the original Round One bid, CMS notes in a release. Puerto Rico will now be excluded from the bid areas and negative pressure wound [...]