ATLANTA — At an update on competitive bidding during Medtrade Oct. 28, Palmetto GBA Content and Policy Lead Cindy Dreher spoke to an audience of HME providers who slammed her with questions regarding changes to Round 1.2 and when it will happen. And though they left the session with Dreher's assurances of a "successful" process, they got no new information.
"We're starting all over," Dreher said of the upcoming round of bidding, which will again be handled by Palmetto as CMS' Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor. "All I can tell you today is that we will be conducting another competition for Round One rebid in 2009. I can't tell you if it will be in January or December, because I don't know."
When many at the session wondered aloud if the bid process would be different this time around, Dreher responded, "We do understand the issues from last time, and we are working very hard to make this a much more successful process for everybody."
She urged providers to contact the CBIC with comments and suggestions through its Web site or to e-mail the CBIC directly.
But while Dreher offered an explanation of the rules that govern the bidding program, she was mum when it came to specific questions about the problems with Round One bids—and frustrated audience members clamoring for answers had plenty of them.
One heated round of questioning resulted when several attendees asked why companies in Round One had won bids for products they had no experience in providing. "Will that be looked at?" one audience member questioned.
Dreher noted the CBIC would verify company information and make sure of bidders' accreditation.
Another session attendee brought up a company that won an oxygen bid. "I'm sure this provider is accredited, but they're not an oxygen supplier. Or if a company provides one power chair in the last five years but they don't sell power chairs, and they win a bid for it … is that even going to be looked at?"
"We do verify that. We look at the financial information and, again, according to the final rule, we have to make sure the provider is accredited and that they're licensed and that all the standards have been met," Dreher said. "If you have any ideas on how to do that better, we are all ears."
"If you did all that in the first round, how did that happen?" shot back a third attendee.
The tense exchange grew as yet another pointed out: "Even when you are accredited, you are accredited for durable medical equipment. You don't get specific. If you actually verify the billing history, you will know when not to award a company a bid for something they've only sold one of in the last five years."
Dreher: "If you have questions regarding accreditation, I encourage you to contact CMS."
Attendee: "See, the confusion seems to stem from the very top of CMS. When Kerry Weems testified before the health subcommittee, he was asked, ‘Why did you hand contracts to those with no experience?' to which Weems answered, ‘Well, they are accredited.'
"If you are a diabetic supplier, it doesn't mean you know anything about oxygen. Even if you are accredited, if you're an oxygen supplier it doesn't mean you know anything about supplying a commode. So the accreditation did a perfectly useless job in educating CMS and the CBIC in terms of what [companies'] experience was … "You've got all sorts of people all over the country throwing out bids in areas they have no experience in. You are going to have a complete train wreck again if you don't succeed in assuring that people that are bidding in a certain category have experience in that certain category."
Dreher: "I can assure you that CMS will look at all issues from Round One. We encourage, if you have specific suggestions, please e-mail us and we will share those with CMS."
Another attendee: "We ask questions but they are never answered. People asked questions all the time and all we heard was, ‘Oh, we'll get back to you.'"
Dreher: "Submit your questions. We want to hear your suggestions and we want this to be successful."
Attendee: "Nobody listens to us. Why did we do the right job, get accredited long before now, take care of business … and then you want to pass us off or let a big company take over a small company business in a rural area?"
Dreher: "You can send me some information on that. We want you to share some information on that and we will pass it along."
Attendee: "But we have no more information today …"
Concluded Dreher: "Please, send me your questions."