Amid confusion over CBAs, registration closes Thursday for Round 2 of competitive bidding

Registration closes Thursday for Round 2 of competitive bidding, and there is still confusion about whether HME providers are in areas affected by the program, the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America (AMEPA) reported this morning.

The association cited the case of Jeff Ross of Kettig Medical in Taylorsville, Ky., who did not think he was in a Round 2 area until a bid consultant recently contacted him, and he double-checked.

Sure enough, a map on the Medicare website showed the Louisville-Jefferson County Competitive Bidding Area (CBA) contains 12 counties, including Spencer County where Kettig Medical is located. “I was shocked,’’ Ross told AMEPA.

Ross said he was never notified by Medicare, and he had been searching for weeks to find a map of the bid area before finally locating one on the Medicare website. He has now registered to bid, but wonders how a single provider in a rural area can realistically cover a 12-county region.

AMEPA warned other providers, particularly in rural areas, to check and see whether or not they are are located in Round 2 competitive bidding areas. The maps are available on the competitive bidding website. To participate in Round 2 of competitive bidding, providers must register before Thursday, Feb. 9, at 9 p.m. ET.