Open Door Forum: Bona Fide Gets Clarified (Sort of)

BALTIMORE — CMS officials at yesterday’s Special Open Door
Forum on the Round 1
rebid immediately addressed the contentious issue of “bona
fide” bids, saying that manufacturers’ invoices are just one type
of documentation that can be used in support of a bid. According to
Cindy Dreher, policy and content lead for the agency’s Competitive
Bidding Implementation Contractor, manufacturers’ invoices alone
may not be enough to prove bona fide status.

“Bidders can submit other types of documentation to provide a
complete picture of the cost of furnishing the item,” said Dreher.
“We may ask the bidder to give us additional information to make
sure that the bidder can actually furnish the item at the bid
price. When we contact a bidder about a potentially non-bona fide
bid, it is the bidder’s responsibility to provide sufficient
information to prove that it can furnish the item at the bid price.
This should include, at a minimum, a brief description of the
rationale for the bid, along with financial documentation to
support the rationale.”

The contentious issue of bona fide bids sparked spirited
questions during a bidding teleconference Sept. 29, but this time
around the focus shifted to specific details on the bid submission process. Dreher also reminded
listeners that backup authorized officials (BAOs) were “strongly
encouraged” to register for the Round 1 rebid
no later than today (Oct. 9). Bidder registration closes on Nov
4, 2009.

For providers burned by the mysterious notices of missing
documentation during the original Round 1, Dreher reiterated that
CMS would inform providers of missing documentation this go-round.
To benefit from this assurance, however, providers will have to
abide by the covered document review date, and turn in bids no
later than Nov 21.

Dreher said CMS will inform providers only if documents are
missing, but not if those documents are accurate and/or properly
filled out. Providers who are notified that documents are missing
will have 10 business days from the date of notification to supply
the missing documentation.

Additional comments from Dreher during the call:

• “A supplier should not submit a bid unless it currently has the
  ability to furnish all items and services from the product category
  throughout the entire CBA.”

• “Pending accreditation is not allowed.”

• “If you’re bidding as a network, then your package must include
  a signed, legal contract amongst all the network members, and a
  signed certification statement from each member of the network. The
  primary network supplier is responsible for gathering all the
  required hard copy documents and submitting them in one
  package.”

CMS and the CBIC have scheduled two additional Special Open Door
Forum calls for questions on the Round 1 rebid on Oct 14 and Nov 4.
For information, check the CBIC Web
site.

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