CMS Schedules Bidding Implementation Call July 2

BALTIMORE–CMS will hold a July 2 telephone briefing on the
implementation of competitive bidding.

The call will begin at 3 p.m. ET. The conference call-in number
is 888/848-6501, and the passcode is DMEPOS.

According to the American Association for Homecare, a message
from the agency reads, in part, “On July 1st,
Medicare’s new DMEPOS program may change the way some
beneficiaries get certain medical equipment and supplies. Join us
for the first monitoring call following competitive bidding
implementation to share information from the field with CMS.
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of CMS
policy experts.”

CMS sent a list of reminders about the July 1 program
implementation on Friday, among them:

If You Refer or Order DMEPOS for Medicare
Beneficiaries:
Under this new program, beneficiaries who permanently reside in or
travel to a designated competitive bidding area (CBA) are required
to obtain competitive bid items from a contract supplier, unless an
exception applies (e.g., grandfathered suppliers). You (e.g.
physicians, practitioners, discharge planners, social workers,
pharmacists, and home health agencies) will play a critical role in
helping your Medicare patients select appropriate DMEPOS contract
suppliers. The Medicare Learning Network’s “Tip Sheet
for Referral Agents” can help! Downloadable copies are
available at www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid. Click on
the “Provider Educational Products and Resources” tab
on the left, then scroll to the “Downloads” section.

Enteral Nutrition is Not a
“Grandfathered” Competitively Bid
Item:
Under the DMEPOS competitive bidding program, enteral nutrition
must be furnished by a contract supplier and cannot be provided by
a non-contract grandfathered supplier. To ensure that there is no
gap in service, this is important information for providers who
order enteral nutrition for Medicare beneficiaries who permanently
reside in or are visiting a CBA.

There is no Application or Registration Required to
Become a Grandfathered Supplier:
Suppliers servicing Medicare patients in a CBA need only notify
their Medicare clients that they have elected to become a
grandfathered supplier and receive a response that the Medicare
beneficiary elects to continue services. For more details, see the
“DMEPOS Grandfathered Suppliers” tip sheet at www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid. Click on
the “Provider Educational Products and Resources” tab
on the left, then scroll to the “Downloads” section.

Website Addition-Single Payment
Amounts:
A new link to DMEPOS competitive bidding single payment amounts has
been added to the dedicated Web site to allow easy access to the
files that list the single payment amount for competitively bid
items. Go to www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid and click
on the “Single Payment Amounts” tab on the left.

The agency also said it has posted 26 new FAQs about the bidding
program on its Web site. Click the “Provider Educational
Products and Resources” tab on the left, then scroll down to
“Related Links Inside CMS.”