Bid Registration Clock Is Ticking

BALTIMORE — CMS is reminding providers that the clock is
ticking on registration for the Round 1 rebid. As of Oct. 8, there
are 27 days left until registration closes at 9 p.m. ET on Nov. 4.
(View a timeline
with deadlines for competitive bidding.)

Time is even shorter for “Authorized Officials” and “Backup
Authorized Officials.”

“If you are a supplier interested in participating in the Round
1 Rebid of the DMEPOS
Competitive Bidding Program and have registered an Authorized
Official (AO) but not a Backup Authorized Official (BAO), we
strongly recommend that a BAO register no later than this Friday,
October 9, 2009,” a listserv message said.

The CBIC’s suggested deadline for AOs to register has passed
(Sept. 14). According to the message:

“If the AO for your company has not already registered in the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Individuals
Authorized Access to the CMS Computer Services (IACS) system, we
cannot guarantee that he or she will be able to complete the
registration process before the registration window closes on
November 4, 2009, at 9 p.m. EST. This is especially a concern if
the National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) record for your company
is not current and accurate.

“AOs should register now to allow BAOs and EUs (End Users) time
to register. In addition, suppliers whose AOs do not register now
run the risk of experiencing delays in accessing the online bidding
system to get a bidder number and thereby missing the opportunity
to submit financial documents by the Covered Document Review Date
(CDRD).”

It’s important to get everyone registered as soon as possible,
the message said, so that the BAO can help the AO with approving EU
registration.

“The establishment of a BAO is encouraged, if your company has
someone who can occupy the BAO role, to avoid any disruption in the
bidding process once the 60-day bid window opens,” CMS said. “The
individual in the BAO role can assume the AO role if for some
reason the AO can no longer fulfill his or her bidding
responsibilities. If there is no BAO for a company and the AO
leaves the company, all end users associated with the company will
lose access to the bidding system.”

To read the notice in full, see the CBIC Web site.

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stories.