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CRE Actions to Curtail the Implementation of the CMS Competitive Bidding Program to Diabetic Supplies for Mail Order and In-pharmacy Sales.
Those readers interested in participating in the aforementioned program should contact Jim Tozzi at tozzi@thecre.com or by phone 202.265.2383.
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Medicare Bidding Process Slams Home Medical Equipment Providers With Arbitrary Reimbursement Rates
From: American Association for Homecare
Severe Industry Fall-Out Expected, as Stakeholders Rally Congress to Replace the Program, Protect Medicare Beneficiaries
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The plummeting reimbursement rates set by Medicare last week 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.
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“There is no way a supplier can obtain brand name testing supplies, employ the staff to fulfill reorders, bill Medicare, and maintain a sophisticated fulfillment center(s) at that rate.”
From: Where Are My Keys? (blog)
Know anyone that recieves mail-order diabetic suppies that is on Medicare?
Big changes are coming, and coming quickly:
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Stakeholders react: ‘These are suicide rates’
From: HME News
by: Leif Kothe
YARMOUTH, Maine – The steep cuts that CMS plans to implement as part of Round 2 of competitive bidding underscore the fatal flaws in the program, say industry stakeholders.
“The economists have said that it’s bid low or die, and I think these payment amounts reflect that,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare.
Starting July 1, Round 2 payment amounts for certain HME will be, on average, 45% lower than the current fee schedule in 91 cities. For a separate national mail-order program, they will be, on average, 72% lower.