Florida Provider Calls on SBA to Halt Competitive Bidding

MIAMI — Following a May 10 meeting in Miami where 70 small
providers pledged to help, Rob Brant of City Medical Services in
North Miami Beach, Fla., has scheduled a meeting in Orlando to
spread the word about his grassroots effort to stop — or at
least delay — CMS’ national competitive bidding
roll-out.

To do so, Brant and his partner Ron Bibace are appealing not
only to CMS but to the Small Business Administration, arguing “that
CMS improperly interpreted the congressional mandate and did not
provide the appropriate ‘protection of small suppliers.’”

While the final rule on competitive bidding includes a 30
percent target for small providers to secure bid contracts, Brant
said based on the amount of the nation’s DME business that is
transacted by small businesses — which some estimates place
as high as 90 percent — that just isn’t enough.

In the Miami competitive bidding area, for example, Brant said
there are 450 listed oxygen providers likely to bid on that
category. “This will almost certainly have a very severe adverse
financial impact on 98 to 99 percent” of those companies, the vast
majority small providers, that don’t win bids, he said.

The negative financial effect on the Miami CBA, which includes
6,000 square miles in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties,
will be far-reaching, he said.

“It’s a chain reaction that won’t affect only small DME
providers,” Brant said. “If those companies downsize or close, it
will hurt their landlords, their billing companies, their software
companies and the mom-and-pop 02 repair companies and the small
manufacturers they deal with … and all of these people could be
going to collect unemployment.”

CMS Acting Administrator Leslie Norwalk has said the agency
estimates that when competitive bidding is fully implemented, the
program would save $1 billion annually.

“On one hand the government said it will save money with
competitive bidding, but if people start closing down their
companies, they could lose $1 billion in commerce from small
business,” Brant said.

He has filed a formal complaint with the SBA Ombudsman.

Although Washington observers say it is unlikely, “we’re hoping
this could delay the implementation of competitive bidding,” Brant
said, adding that he has been encouraged by the “overwhelming
support” for his effort so far. “It’s worth it to save my
business,” he said.

The Orlando meeting will be held Wednesday, May 23, at 7:00 pm
ET at the Holiday Inn Altamonte Springs. For additional
information, contact Brant at [email protected].