Home Health & Hospice Week

First national training call on the bidding program is coming up.

Durable medical equipment suppliers are fighting tooth and nail to halt round one of competitive bidding slated to begin July 1, but there seems to be no stopping the bidding steamroller.

In addition to two earlier MLN Matters articles on bidding, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has now issued a third article addressing exceptions and "special circumstances."

"This article will be of particular interest to physicians and other treating practitioners who are enrolled DMEPOS suppliers; physicians and others who order or refer DMEPOS items or services for their patients; skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities; and physical therapists and occupational therapists in private practice who are Medicare enrolled DMEPOS suppliers," CMS says about the article at www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0807.pdf.

The first two articles contain a bidding overview and address round one particulars on grandfathering, repair and replacement and other specifics (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XVII, No. 14).

CMS has started informing DMEPOS referral sources about the coming round of bidding as well. "If you order, refer or supply certain medical equipment and supplies, such as oxygen or power wheelchairs, you should know about a new Medicare program that may change the suppliers your patients will need to use," the notice to physicians, providers and suppliers says.

Mark your calendar: CMS will offer a 90-minute bidding training call for suppliers and physicians on May 13 at 12:30 pm ET. "The call will give a general overview of the new program and address some of the exceptions and situations you may encounter as the program is implemented," the agency says in an email notice.

You must register for the call at www.2.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/051308. Or a replay is available until May 17 by calling 1-800-642-1687 (passcode 45744159).

Resources: Bidding information is online at www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS and www.dmecompetitivebid.com. • You need to test your NPI-only claims if you haven't yet. "CMS is concerned that the percentage of Medicare claims with NPI-only is not growing fast enough," the agency says in a recent message to providers. Starting May 23, CMS will require NPI-only claims that do not contain legacy numbers such as OSCAR numbers.

CMS has declared May 7 as "legacy free day" and has requested certain clearinghouses to test NPI-only claims on that day, it says. "This exercise will help Medicare providers evaluate their NPI readiness prior to the May 23, 2008 deadline," the agency expects.

Last chance: If claims reject or suspend, providers can resolve those problems before the deadline hits and cash flow grinds to a halt. • Home care providers are still facing claims processing headaches due to the Fiscal Intermediary Shared System update that went into place April 7. "Claim accounts receivables (ARs) that originated under [...]