No Answers Yet on Riverside Allegations

ATLANTA–Among the serious problems racked up in round one of competitive bidding, neither HHS nor CMS has publicly addressed evidence of possible bidding improprieties uncovered in the Riverside-San Bernardino CBA.

According to Exeter, Pa.-based Pride Mobility Products, the company found that 18 of the winning standard power wheelchair category bidders in the competitive bidding area all had price, product supplier and bidding consultant in common. (See HomeCare Monday, May 5.)

“I think this clearly shows there was something in the system that didn’t work,” said Seth Johnson, Pride’s vice president of government affairs, in an interview at Medtrade Spring.

Referring to the fact that the winning PWC bids in the CBA “were identical or within pennies of each other,” Johnson said, “this is just further evidence there’s a real problem here and that this program needs to be stopped and closely evaluated prior to moving forward with the implementation of round one.”

In a May 1 letter to Michael Leavitt, Pride Chairman and CEO Scott Meuser notified the HHS Secretary of the findings and requested an immediate investigation.

Later that month, four California congressmen representing the CBA–Reps. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.; Ken Calvert, R-Calif.; Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.; and Joe Baca, D-Calif.–also wrote Leavitt calling for an investigation.

To date, neither Meuser nor any of the California representatives has received a reply.

Responding to a recent query from HomeCare about the matter, a spokesperson for CMS said only, “We are aware of the allegations of collusion or other irregularities in the bid process made by Pride and referred them to the appropriate Federal agencies for further investigation.”