Plans for a New Competitive Bidding Round Revealed in HHS Budget Materials

WASHINGTON—In its recently released budget documents, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has indicated that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is likely to start the next round of competitive bidding. 

HHS signaled the plan in its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year, in its 51-page “Budget in Brief” document and in a 194-page Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for CMS, according to the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare).  

The Budget in Brief includes a mention of a fiscal year 2026 budget item for $22 million to restart the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies(DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program (CBP) while the longer CMS Appropriations document shares additional detail. The appropriations document notes the current gap status for the bidding program and indicates CMS will start bidding for the next round of the DMEPOS CPB after:

• Re-engineering and migrating the information technology (IT) systems located within the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor’s IT environment into the CMS Cloud environment
• Completing the formal public notice and comment rulemaking process
• Implementing necessary DMEPOS CBP changes to:
  • Establish sustainable prices
  • Save money for Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers
  • Help limit fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program
  • Ensure beneficiary access to quality items and services

The appropriations document also provides details on additional “critical operational tasks” in the bidding process, including:

• Bidder Registration—CMS must assist potential bidders in obtaining user identification and passwords to gain access to the bidding system
• Solicitation of Bids—Managing call center operations to respond to bidding questions
• Begin the Bid Evaluation Process—Preliminary bid evaluation and screening include tasks such as:
  • Licensure and accreditation validation
  • Reviewing bid surety bond submissions, and identifying those bidders that met the covered document review date, then determining if those bidders have missing documentation

AAHomecare said it is aware of a new DME proposed rule that includes competitive bidding that has been under review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a unit of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, since late April. Regulatory experts indicate that these types of proposed rules are normally published by July 1.

AAHomecare will continue to partner with industry stakeholders and members of Congress to ensure that bidding processes lead to the “sustainable prices” indicated in the bullets above.  

The association said it will prioritize efforts to require bidders to be properly qualified and able to stand by their bids, to ensure appropriate price-setting mechanisms and transparency throughout the process, and to limit CMS’s ability to once again cancel the bidding results if they are not satisfied with the prices established. The first part of this effort will be working with the HME community to make sure the industry collectively provides strong and thoughtful comments when the proposed rule is released.