Bid Prep Inc., a consulting company for providers participating in the Competitive Bidding Program, sent a notice last week that credit reports for providers submitting Round 2 bids must be prepared by Jan. 30.

That deadline has not been highly publicized, and awkward wording in CMS literature further obscures it. CME literature states that the credit report must be dated “within 90 days prior” to the opening of the bid window.

That prompted Chris Rice of Bid Prep to call competitive bidding officials who confirmed that the instructions really meant “prior to” and not “within 90 days.” Rice noted that the poorly publicized deadline for pulling a credit report is quickly approaching.