Bid News Blog

Home Care Magazine:

BALTIMORE — In a post on its website earlier today, CMS notified industry stakeholders of a national education call on competitive bidding on Nov. 8.

According to the notice, “The target audience for this call is DMEPOS suppliers that will not be contract suppliers in the program.”

The call has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 8, from 2 – 3:30 p.m. ET. The message said more details, including registration instructions, “will be shared in the days to come.”

The message also included information on “The DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program Traveling Beneficiary Fact Sheet” (MLN Fact Sheet 201010-44) now available from the Medicare Learning Network:

From: Home Care Magazine

Oct 25, 2010 12:03 PM

The Indianapolis Star

Kerry Anne McGeary

For years, some economists and members of the medical community have argued that the health-care system, particularly Medicare, would function better under free-market forces because it would improve competition and, potentially, foster innovation. The free market would invigorate the industry, opening doors to new companies and providing consumers improved services at lower prices.

From HME News:

YARMOUTH, Maine – M&A activity in the first nine competitive bidding areas (CBAs) appears to be heating up as some HME companies that lost bids try to buy their way into the program.

“There are companies servicing one of the first nine CBAs that did not win a bid and they do not want to stop servicing Medicare beneficiaries,” said Jeff Baird, an attorney with Brown & Fortunato in Amarillo, Texas. “So they are going out and finding contract winners to buy.”

Home Care Magazine

Oct 18, 2010 12:27 PM

From: Home Care Magazine

CMS Delays Announcement of Round 1 Bid Winners

Oct 14, 2010 3:33 PM

From: Home Care

FORD CITY, Pa.—Three birds in a cage positioned over a nebulizer and an oxygen concentrator—that’s what was causing the patient’s distress.

“He was inhaling bird droppings,” said Kimberly S. Wiles, BS, RRT, vice president of respiratory services for Ford City, Pa.-based Klingensmith Healthcare.

It’s likely that patient’s condition would have continued to worsen had it not been for the respiratory therapist from Klingensmith who visited his home to assess the situation—and quickly determined it was a bird problem.

“No one would have known that over the phone,” Wiles said.

From: HME News

By Mike Moran Executive Editor – 10.08.2010  

BALTIMORE – The HME industry sat on the edge of its seat last week, waiting for CMS to announce the names of providers who won contracts for national competitive bidding.

“We hear, anecdotally, that it is a real mixed bag out there,” said Cara Bachenheimer, Invacare’s senior vice president of government relations. “There are good folks who have accepted contracts. And then we hear that some people have gotten contracts and it’s like, ‘Who are these people?’ And you do a little research and they are bankrupt.”