Competitive bidding updates issued for wheelchairs, diabetic strips

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued two announcements Friday revising and clarifying conditions for Round 2 of the Competitive Bidding Program.

CMS revised bid limits in the Round 2 Bid Preparation Worksheets for 14 HCPCS codes for power wheelchairs (K0813 through K0829). The previous bid limits listed in the worksheet were incorrectly based on 150 percent of the actual bid limits, CMS reported.

CMS also made three clarifying updates to the list of glucose monitors on the 50 Percent Compliance Form, a bid document for the national mail-order competition. The updates:

• ASCENSIA AUTO DISC has been consolidated with ASCENSIA BREEZE 2. (ASCENSIA AUTO DISC is no longer manufactured but uses the same test strips as the ASCENSIA BREEZE 2.)

• FREESTYLE FLASH has been consolidated with FREESTYLE and FREESTYLE FREEDOM. (FREESTYLE FLASH is no longer manufactured but uses the same test strips as FREESTYLE and FREESTYLE FREEDOM.)

• PROTÉGÉ has been consolidated with SMARTEST. (PROTÉGÉ is no longer manufactured but uses the same test strips as SMARTEST.)

The updates are available on the CBIC website.