CMS Extends Bid Window after Legislators Bring Full-Court Press

BALTIMORE–After several weeks of intense pressure from
legislators and months of lobbying by industry stakeholders, on
Friday CMS extended its first-round window for DMEPOS competitive
bidding by 60 days. (See HomeCare Monday Special Alert, July
27.)

The deadline for providers to submit bids–which had been set
for 9 p.m. Friday–was extended to Sept. 25. It’s the agency’s
third deadline extension in as many weeks, though the other
two–the first to July 20 and the second to July 27–were only for
a week each.

The deadline for bid registration has been pushed to Aug. 27,
and the accreditation deadline for suppliers to be considered for
contracts is now Oct. 31.

The latest extensions follow a concentrated lobbying effort by
the industry that culminated in a letter from Senate Finance
Committee officials to CMS requesting an extension of 90 days. In
the July 20 letter, committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and
Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said they had “serious
concerns” about problems with CMS’ online bidding system and asked
the agency to respond by July 25.

On that day, during a confirmation hearing for CMS Administrator
nominee Kerry Weems, committee members made several requests for
the extension, citing providers’ difficulties in bidding. Sen. Pat
Roberts, R-Kan., wrapped up the hearing with a 20-minute laundry
list of providers’ specific bidding problems compiled by the
Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Services, buying groups
VGM and The MED Group and other industry associations and
stakeholders from throughout the country.

Roberts read the examples of problems into the hearing record,
including numerous technical difficulties and other issues with the
bidding system itself, bid instructions and lack of details about
the program, product category issues and changes to the
process.

As part of the lobbying effort, providers were encouraged to
print out actual error messages from the bidding system, which made
a convincing case with legislators, according to John Gallagher,
vice president, government relations, for VGM. While CMS had
indicated problems with the system had been resolved, Gallagher
said, when “the print screens show errors from their own system,
then it’s hard for them to dispute it.”

On Thursday afternoon, MAMES said it had learned that as a
result of the bidding issues aired during the hearing, CMS planned
to announce the extension.

According to MAMES Executive Director Rose Schafhauser, a 90-day
extension would have been preferable, but “you take whatever you
can get at this juncture.”

Since registration for bidding opened April 9, providers have
reported trouble getting user IDs and passwords, not getting
adequate guidance–or the wrong guidance–on questions and being
shut out of the Internet-based bidding system. Such difficulties
prompted MAMES to enlist the aid of Sen. Roberts, Schafhauser
said.

“Our whole push through the senator’s office was trying to get
this thing delayed and trying to get [CMS] to understand all the
issues that providers are facing,” Schafhauser said.

She and representatives from Roberts’ office met with CMS
officials in late May about incorrect information being dispensed
through the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor helpline.
Schafhauser said she pointed out that “the people who are on the
front lines don’t have the knowledge [CMS policymakers do] … What
if providers are taking what these people are saying verbatim?”
(See HomeCare Monday, June 11.)

Schafhauser added that she hopes CMS will use the extra time
“not just to pacify folks” but to fix problems with the system and
answer bidders’ remaining questions.

In response to CMS’ first bid extension, the American
Association for Homecare joined several other stakeholder groups to
go after support in Congress for a longer delay in implementation
of the bidding program. Fourteen senators and 65 representatives
signed letters to CMS calling for a slowdown.

Even with the bid extension, however, the association urged
providers to continue to work toward completing their bids, noting
that “since there is no certainty that problems faced by HME
providers will be addressed during the next 60 days,” they should
redouble efforts for congressional action on H.R. 1845, the
Tanner-Hobson bill, and its Senate companion, H.R. 1428. The bills
address “many of the shortcomings with the Medicare competitive
bidding system,” AAHomecare said.

While CMS has not released the number of providers who have
registered in the first 10 bidding areas, founder Chris Rice of
provider forum competingbid.com noted a recent post from a provider
who signed up to bid at the last minute (before the previous
registration deadline of June 30) and was given a bidder
identification number in the 900s.

“Assuming that’s a sequential number, there are far fewer
bidders than expected,” Rice said. “However, it is probably enough
for the CBIC to work with.”

To view CMS’ bid extension notice in full, click here.

For a replay of Weems’ confirmation hearing, go to finance.senate.gov, click on “Hearings,” then
select 7/25/07.

For information on H.R. 1845 and S. 1428, visit the AAHomecare
Web site at www.aahomecare.org.