Competitive Bidding For Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Moves Forward

 

On April 20, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized regulations for a competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment (DME)—such as wheelchairs, oxygen supplies and walkers—that will start in 2011.

Under the new program, suppliers will submit bids to CMS, which will choose providers from each geographic area. CMS will pay only for equipment from the approved suppliers. This means people with Medicare must obtain durable medical equipment from these chosen providers to receive coverage.

Before the implementation of the regulations, payments for DME were set by a formula established by statute. CMS said these payment rates were set too high, which led to thousands of dollars in overpayments to suppliers. Officials stated the competitive bidding program, which will begin on January 1, 2011, could save the program one billion dollars a year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The competitive bidding program was first mandated by law in 2003, and CMS took steps to execute the program in 2008. However, amid complaints from DME suppliers, Congress delayed the program and required CMS to provide equipment suppliers with feedback about missing bid information, rather than automatically disqualifying them from participation.

-From: “ Competitive Bidding For Durable Medical Equipment Moves Forward” , MEDICARE WATCH , a biweekly electronic newsletter of the Medicare Rights Center, Vol. 12 , No. 9: May 5, 2009.

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