Bid News Blog

This news site presents breaking news on the CMS competitive bidding programs. It is interactive and readers are encouraged to post stories in their names or anonymously
February 21, 2013

Will CMS add home infusion drugs to bid program?

Editor’s Note:  CRE has long warned about a wide-scale expansion of competitive bidding.

From: HME News

WASHINGTON – The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommends in a new study that CMS change the way it pays for home infusion drugs.

One of the options laid out by the OIG: Include home infusion drugs in the next round of competitive bidding. While external infusion pumps and supplies were included in the Round 1 re-compete (but not Round 1 or Round 2), CMS has not included drugs at all. CMS concurred with this recommendation.

February 18, 2013

CMS Will See The Light When They Feel the Pain

Editor’s Note:  See the following article  appears in  Human Events.  Basically CMS believes they are untouchable and is going to proceed with an arbitrary pricing system wrapped in a bow titled “competitive bidding”. Senator Dirksen ( Circa early 60’s)  once stated that people “see the iight when they feel the pain”. It is time the regulated industry abide by Senator Dirksen’s comments with full recognition that since they are regulated it is best to work through credible  and recognized  third parties such as CRE.

 

New Medicare bidding rules, pricing raise objections

New Medicare bidding rules, pricing raise objections

 

February 11, 2013

Medicare bidding process slams HME providers

From: Home Care Magazine

The plummeting reimbursement rates set by Medicare for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) demonstrate why its procurement system for home medical equipment is a defective process likely to produce troubling results. The bid program allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to impose arbitrary pricing on oxygen therapy, power wheelchairs, and other critical equipment and services for beneficiaries.

“If this kind of manipulated procurement process were utilized by an industry in the private sector, it would be panned as price fixing and the Justice Department would be investigating,” said Tyler Wilson, president of the American Association for Homecare. His members, the providers and manufacturers of home medical equipment, are outraged over the devastating reimbursement rates released this week.

February 7, 2013

NAIMES issues call to action

From: HME News

WASHINGTON – NAIMES will hit Capitol Hill in two weeks to discuss concerns with the Round 2 payment amounts, the association announced today.

NAIMES has also called on HME providers to join them in this informal Lobby Day, Feb. 26-27.

On Jan. 30, CMS announced a cut of, on average, 45% for certain HME. For its national mail order diabetes program, the cut was, on average, 72%.

“Businesses and lives will be destroyed, jobs lost, and patients harmed by a program that fails to meet the Congressional mandate of ‘competitive bidding,’” stated NAIMES in a bulletin.

February 4, 2013

CMS delivers serious blow to HME/DME industry

From: Home Care Magazine

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 3, 2013—Like two prizefighters duking it out in a 15-round title bout, CMS and the DME  industry have stepped into the ring of cost cutting and cost saving for over a decade and beyond. The DME industry throws the punch of “saving health care dollars by keeping patients at home.” CMS’ counter punch is “you are getting paid too much for what you do.” Out of all the battles that the DME industry has faced in the past, this battle could be a devastating knockout blow for many DME providers. The DME industry has let its guard down and CMS has just landed a rattling punch with the announcement of Round 2 competitive bid rates. The new rate announcement has knocked the industry to its knees. The 10 count is on. Will the DME industry stand to its feet for one more round and continue to fight, or will this be the final blow?