In Brief

The next meeting of the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee (PAOC), charged with advising CMS on implementing competitive bidding in 2007, is scheduled for Feb. 28 through March 2, in Baltimore. For the first time, CMS will allow non-committee members to speak at the meeting, time permitting. According to a tentative list of topics from CMS, the PAOC will cover four broad areas: payment issues, small supplier issues, data collection and quality standards. For more on the committee and its members, see page 20.

Rep. Mike Ross, the only HME provider in Congress, has been appointed to serve on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over HHS and the FDA, among other agencies. The Arkansas HME and pharmacy owner said he plans to bring his knowledge of health care issues as a small-town provider to the table.

CMS recently expanded coverage of insulin infusion pumps for diabetes. The final National Coverage Determination, announced Dec. 17, allows coverage of an alternative test to identify beneficiaries with type 1 diabetes who would benefit from the pump. The decision also expands the coverage of insulin pumps for patients with type 2 diabetes by standardizing C-peptide testing and relaxing the criteria for those with kidney disease.