Florida Senate Backs Away from DME Competitive Bidding

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — For the third time in as many years,
Florida providers appear on their way to defeating a state Medicaid
mandate for DME competitive
bidding.

Submitted earlier this month, proviso language before the state
Senate Ways and Means Committee would eliminate instructions to the
state health agency that could have led to DME competitive bidding
for Florida Medicaid business. In its place, lawmakers have added
an amendment to the proposed state budget requiring providers to
become accredited in order to maintain their state license.

The language complements a bill introduced in the state House
with companion legislation in the Senate that would require Florida
DME suppliers to become accredited.

“Accreditation is the best direction for the industry to move
into,” said Ramon Maury, an industry lobbyist representing a
coalition of several state providers, including Miami-based
PediStat and Ft. Lauderdale-based Galaxy Medical. He added that the
bills have recently been tweaked to address concerns raised by the
Florida Association of Medical Equipment Services (FAMES).

The bills’ original language would have required providers to
become accredited by Jan. 1 of 2006. But according to Brian Seeley,
FAMES president and president of Ormond Beach, Fla.-based Seeley
Medical, “It would be very difficult to implement mandatory
accreditation within six months of the effective date of this bill
… FAMES research in January 2005 found that out of 2,126 licensed
durable medical equipment providers in Florida, only 8 percent were
accredited. This means that the accrediting organizations would
have to accredit approximately 1,956 HME providers within the
allotted time frame, and we are not comfortable that each and every
provider will have a fair and reasonable opportunity to conform to
the requirement.”

While the association fully supports the intent behind mandatory
accreditation, Seeley said, “we think that an effective date of
Jan. 1, 2007, is more sound.”

“We’re very conscious of the time frame issue,” Maury said,
noting that an amendment to the bill allows for a kind of
“temporary license” for providers as long as they can show “they’ve
met minimum requirements and are going through the process of
accreditation.”

Seeley also said FAMES has concerns about home care companies’
operating hours. The bill originally required HME providers to be
open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The language “is too vague,” he said, explaining it could be
interpreted to mean “that providers must be open and operating
seven days per week, including holidays; nor does it take into
account that many small providers close their businesses during
lunch, though they’re still accessible by phone.”

“We’re still working through that issue,” Maury said, adding
that lawmakers are adding a technical amendment to alleviate
concerns.

Three years ago, the state introduced a competitive bidding
proposal that FAMES defeated in a $200,000 lawsuit. Two years ago,
competitive bidding language was again written into the budget, but
the state agency never carried out the program.

The current version of the bill, HB 179, is posted on the
Florida House Web site, available by
clicking here.