BALTIMORE—In conjunction with the ramp-up of the
title="Round 1 rebid">Round 1 rebid, CMS has scheduled a
series of Special Open Door Forums as part of an intensive
education campaign about the competitive bidding
process.
  
According to CMS, the sessions are designed “to ensure that
DMEPOS suppliers interested in bidding get all the information they
need to submit a complete bid in a timely manner.”
 
The schedule includes:
Aug. 19 - How to Register
to Access the Bidding System (2-3 p.m. EDT)
Sept. 2 - Learn the Rules
to Submit a Bid Successfully (2-3 p.m. EDT)
Sept. 16 - What You Need to
Know Before Submitting Your Bid (3:30-4:30 p.m. EDT)
Sept. 22 - Financial
Documentation Plus Small Supplier Considerations (2-3 p.m.
EDT)
Sept. 29 - How a Bid is
Evaluated (2-3 p.m. EDT)
Oct. 7 - Bid Submission
Process (2-3 p.m. EDT)
Oct. 14 - Open
Call (3:30-5 p.m. EDT)
Nov. 4
- Open
Call (2-3 p.m. EDT)

There will be time for questions and answers following each
forum. A transcript and audio recording from each forum also will
be posted on the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor
(CBIC) Web site at
title="www.dmecompetitivebid.com">www.dmecompetitivebid.com.

 
Registration instructions for the Special Open Door Forums will be
sent by email. (Sign up on the home page of the target="_blank" title="CBIC Web site">CBIC Web site to
receive email updates.)
  
In a Round 1 title="timeline">timeline announced Aug. 3, CMS said
registration for user IDs and passwords is currently set to begin
Aug. 17. The target date to open the 60-day bid window is Oct. 21.
Bidding will close Dec. 21.