BALTIMORE--While there were no big explanations at CMS' Open Door Forum last week, HME stakeholders did glean a few nuggets of information on the agency's national competitive bidding project and its ongoing fraud demonstration.
But those who were anxious to hear the next deadline for mandatory accreditation were disappointed. Rumors had circulated within the industry that the accreditation deadline for Round Two bidders--or maybe even the drop-dead date when all providers must be accredited--would be revealed at the Wednesday afternoon Open Door. It did not happen.
"We don't have any deadlines to give you for Phase Two of accreditation," said Sandra Bastinelli, director of the Division of Medical Review in the Office of Financial Management, in brief comments.
Joel Kaiser, deputy director of DMEPOS policy for CMS, was equally vague in his update on competitive bidding, advising providers to check the competitive bidding Web site--www.dmecompetitivebid.com--for a program timeline. He noted the agency is "in the middle of bid evaluation" for Round One, but should conclude the process in January when the actual contracting process for suppliers will begin.
About expansion of the national bidding project, Kaiser would say only that the next 70 cities selected for the program would be announced "in the near future." However, he added, "once we roll out the MSAs and the product categories for Round Two, that will begin the process of implementation. Shortly after that, we'll be announcing a timeline for Round Two with milestones and key dates."
Regarding the anti-fraud demonstration projects currently under way in Southern California and South Florida--which mandate that all HME providers in those areas reapply to the National Supplier Clearinghouse to be Medicare providers--CMS' Frank Whelan said letters notifying providers about re-enrollment are being sent out gradually.
"One-quarter of all DME suppliers in the targeted areas have received letters," said Whelan. A second batch of letters to the next quarter of suppliers was supposed to go out by the end of November, the third round by the end of December, he said. "By the end of January, the final 25 percent of DME suppliers will have received their letters," Whelan said.
Whelan's explanation, in response to a question about the fraud demo from Walt Gorski, vice president of government relations for the American Association for Homecare, was one of the few answers HME stakeholders got during the forum. CMS officials asked most inquirers to send emails, saying they would be routed to the appropriate person for answers.
Gorski also asked for a status report on claims-processing logjams in Jurisdiction C as a result of the transition from Palmetto GBA to Cigna as the DME MAC, as well as an update on maintenance and service payments for capped rental equipment. Those issues should be addressed in the next Open Door Forum, which is set for Jan. 9.