BALTIMORE--Late Tuesday, CMS announced that suppliers
participating in the first round of Medicare's competitive bidding
program must be accredited by Aug. 31, 2007, in order to be
selected as a contract winner. The agency had previously stipulated
that in order to submit a bid, suppliers must be accredited or
pending accreditation. According to a CMS timeline, bidding will
open late this month with a bid window of 60 days. The announcement
from CMS follows in its entirety: In order to participate in the
Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, suppliers must meet
quality standards and be accredited by a CMS-approved Deemed
Accreditation Organization. Suppliers that are interested in
bidding under the new program must be aware of two key deadlines:
-- Suppliers must be accredited or be pending accreditation to
submit a bid. CMS cannot accept a bid from any supplier that is not
accredited or that has not applied for accreditation.
-- Suppliers will need to be accredited to be awarded a contract.
The accreditation deadline for the first round of competitive
bidding is August 31, 2007. Suppliers must be accredited before
this date to be awarded a contract. Suppliers should apply for
accreditation immediately to allow adequate time to process their
applications. Bidding is expected to open in late April 2007. For a
list of the CMS-approved Deemed Accreditation Organizations and
information about the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding program,
visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS/
<http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549980-0-0-0-1>
To view a Special Edition MLN Matters article on this topic, visit
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0713.pdf
<http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549981-0-0-0-1>
For a list of the 10 MSAs where the bidding program is set to roll
out, and for additional information on competitive bidding, see
http://www.dmecompetitivebid.com <http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549982-0-0-0-1>
Check future issues of HomeCare Monday for continuing
coverage, or visit www.homecaremag.com <http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549983-0-0-0-1>
for more information.
BALTIMORE--Late Tuesday, CMS announced that suppliers participating in the first round of Medicare's competitive bidding program must be accredited by Aug. 31, 2007, in order to be selected
Friday, April 27, 2007