CMS Statement on Competitive Bidding IFR

BALTIMORE — On Friday afternoon, CMS issued a statement
regarding the April 18 effective date for the interim final rule on
DMEPOS competitive bidding. The full text of the statement
follows:

“The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of
2008 (MIPPA), enacted on July 15, 2008, made limited changes to the
competitive bidding program for Durable Medical Equipment,
Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS), including a
requirement that the Secretary conduct a second competition to
select suppliers for Round 1 in 2009. The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule with
comment period (IFC) on January 16, 2009. The rule incorporates
into existing regulations specific statutory requirements contained
in MIPPA related to the competitive bidding program.

“The Administration delayed the effective date for the IFC to
allow CMS officials the opportunity for further review of the
issues of law and policy raised by the rule. Based upon its review
and on the need to ensure that CMS is able to meet the statutory
deadlines contained in MIPPA, the Administration has concluded that
the effective date should not be further delayed. The rule will
become effective tomorrow, April 18, 2009. However, there will be
no immediate effect on the Medicare DMEPOS benefit and Medicare
beneficiaries may continue to use their current DMEPOS suppliers at
this time.

“During the comment period, CMS received many suggestions by a
range of stakeholders to make further improvements to the
competitive bidding program, such as ensuring that CMS’s processes
for collecting and evaluating bids are fair and transparent. In the
upcoming weeks, CMS will be issuing further guidance on the
timeline for and bidding requirements related to the Round 1
re-bid. In finalizing these guidelines, CMS will continue to seek
input from all affected stakeholders to ensure program
implementation consistent with the legislative requirements.”