Discussion Forum

Our company was not located in the Dallas/Fort Worth competitive bidding area, but we are well know as a provider of complex rehab systems in that area. After the bid awards were announced we received several calls from providers who had been awarded the bid for complex rehab in this area, but had never provided that service. They were looking for some hints as to how to get started. Is this what we really want — inexperienced providers building complex seating and mobility systems for people with multiple sclerosis and other serious neuro disorders? This is NOT a commodity product! If a supplier has a provider number and can submit a bid, regardless of their experience or ability to provide a service, they can become a bid winner. Further, competitive bidding is similar to the days of capitation rate agreements where most providers did not know how to develop accurate cap rates that would cover their costs and generate a small profit. They pulled numbers out of the air to submit capitation rates bids, and eventually lost so much money that service suffered considerably. There are still so many small Medicare providers that do not have the ability or experience to determine their costs of doing business, and as a result, can not submit accurate bids. It’s still about pulling numbers out of the air. What has happened to the free market in America where we all compete based on quality and price? We would be happy to compete on this basis and without any government intertvention!