WASHINGTON (July 9, 2014)—Congressmen Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and John Larson (D-Conn.)—both long-standing advocates for the home care community—will sponsor a bipartisan piece of legislation that would reform the Medicare bidding program to make it more equitable. The Medicare Competitive Bidding Improvement Act, H.R. 4920, would make bids from suppliers to provide durable medical equipment, prosthetic and orthotic devices and supplies (DMEPOS) binding under the Medicare bidding program.
H.R. 4920 is a step in the right direction that each and every DMEPOS provider stands to benefit from. AAHomecare volunteer leadership and staff worked closely with Hill contacts and Congressman Tiberi’s office on H.R. 4920.This bipartisan legislation takes a straightforward approach to remedy some of the most damaging elements of the bidding program by requiring binding bids and proof of licensure. In addition, H.R. 4920 is designed to be budget neutral, and its principles are in line with the preferences of important players on committees of jurisdiction for this issue.
The legislation has already achieved broad support across the HME community, but Congress needs to hear directly from individuals—owners, drivers, case managers or salespersons must step up to do their parts by sending in a letter to Congress via the AAHomecare Action Center. It takes two minutes to send a letter to your elected officials and add your voice—click here to take action.
“The current bid process is flawed,” said Congressman Tiberi. “Auction experts agree that it encourages lowball bidding and will lead to market failure. This bill would reduce the number of bad actors participating in the program by imposing a penalty if the supplier does not accept a contract, promoting fairness among suppliers. Removing bad actors from the process would encourage higher quality equipment, supplies and services for seniors.”
“Medicare beneficiaries deserve access to the medical products and services they need to keep them healthy,” said Congressman Larson. “A fair bidding process for suppliers will promote timely access to higher quality medical equipment for seniors and the disabled. I am pleased to work on this legislation with Rep. Tiberi and look forward to continuing our efforts to improve the bidding process.”
“Never before, in the history of health care, have so few people done so much damage to so many. Patients, companies and the entire health care system are all diminished because of competitive bidding,” said George Kucka, president of Fairmeadows Home Health Center, Inc. and member of the AAHomecare Board of Directors. “The binding bid legislation is essential to give some validity to any competitive bidding program and is a good beginning to correcting the damage done by this egregious program.”
“Requiring binding bids will not only help assure the fiscal integrity of the overall program, it will also deter speculative bidding from suppliers who have no capability or intention of directly providing service to Medicare beneficiaries in a particular CBA, said Stephen Ackerman, CEO, Spectrum Medical, Inc. and treasurer for AAHomecare.
The AAHomecare State Leaders Council is also working to spread the word about the bill to their members and state leaders.
“On behalf of our member providers in California we strongly urge the adoption of H.R. 4920,” said Bob Achermann, executive director of the California Association of Medical Products Suppliers and member of the AAHomecare State Leaders Council. “This legislation would bring sanity to the competitive bidding process by requiring that bidders only be allowed to submit a binding bid. The industry has consistently pointed out the flaws in the current bidding process and H.R. 4920 would correct one of those major deficiencies.”
“Binding bids is something that everyone can get behind. GAMES members have found it to be easily understood and supported by congressional staff, said Teresa Tatum, Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers (GAMES). This is common sense legislation and GAMES members are optimistic that with the full weight of the industry behind it, H.R. 4920 will be passed into law.”
"HOMES agrees with the plan to implement the MPP in stages, beginning with two very important pieces—enforcement of license requirements and making bids binding,” said Karyn Estrella, CAE, Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England (HOMES) executive director. HOMES encourages our members to contact their elected officials with a request that they cosponsor H.R. 4920. We are happy that one of our congressional representatives, Rep. John Larson (D-CT), is one of the lead sponsors of this important legislation. I am optimistic that positive changes are coming—we need to be patient until we get there," said Karyn Estrella, CAE, HOMES executive director. Visit aahomecare.org.
