competitive bidding
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2016)—When the Medicare program implements changes to how it pays for medical care or equipment, CMS monitors to make sure that any adjustments meet our goals of preserving access to care and facilitating better health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—commended lawmakers in the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee for reviewing legislation to sustain and improve the Medicare program, including the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act (PADME).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 8, 2016)—A newly released GAO report, “Medicare: Utilization and Expenditures for Complex Wheelchair Accessories,” was presented to Congress on June 1, 2016, just 30 days before prices derived from CMS’s flawed bidding program for home medical equipment are set to take effect for specialized complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs used by individuals with profound mobility and disability challenges.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home respiratory therapy providers and manufacturing companies—warned that findings released from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) signal fundamental flaws in the competitive bidding rate setting process for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2016)—The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health & Human Services today released a report that raises more concerns about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) ill-conceived competitive bidding program for home medical equipment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2016)—A group of national and state associations sent a letter to Congressional leaders today urging passage of the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act of 2016 (S.2736 and H.R. 5210), bipartisan legislation that would ensure continued patient access to vital health care technology.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2016)—Some contract suppliers in Round 2 of the Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program had not met all of the competitive bidding licensure requirements. Specifically, of the 146 suppliers covered in our audit, 69 suppliers met licensure requirements. However, 63 suppliers did not meet licensure requirements for some of the competitions for which they received a contract.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 24, 2016)—CMS’s recently published statement on Medicare assignment rate information is grossly inadequate for evaluating the impact of the first round of deep competitive-bidding derived pricing cuts on patients in rural and non-bid areas. CMS’s report is vague and fails to provide important details:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2016)—Starting in 2011, section 1834(a)(1)(F) of the Social Security Act (the Act) required CMS to use competitive bidding to set payment amounts for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) for certain areas in the country.
Washington, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—The highly anticipated companion bill to S. 2736, the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday, May 12, 2016. H.R. 5210 was introduced by Representatives Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa). This bill has gathered broad bi-partisan support as it has been introduced with 40 original co-sponsors including Reps.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2016)—The long-awaited House competitive-bidding rural relief and bid-ceiling fix bill is expected to drop next week—a current working draft of the legislation can be found here; it is the House companion to S. 2736.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30, 2016)—With a July 1 deadline looming for additional Medicare reimbursement cuts for suppliers in rural and other non-bid areas, there’s an urgent need to get House companion legislation to S. 2736 introduced with a strong round of original co-sponsors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2016)—Legislation to delay a new round of cuts to rural and non-bid area suppliers and provide additional fixes to the Medicare competitive bidding program for home medical equipment (HME) was introduced late yesterday in the Senate. The lead sponsors for the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act (S. 2736), are Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.).
This bipartisan, non-controversial, and budget-neutral bill will:
WATERLOO, IOWA, (February 4, 2016)—VGM & Associates has launched the 2016 HME Business Playbook, a 26-page resource created specifically for the HME industry.
The playbook includes innovative ideas and strategies to both grow and adapt to the new age of HME products and services, all while providing guidance for providers and vendors alike to develop their own game plan.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 29, 2015)—CMS finalized the rule to implement Prior Authorization for general DMEPOS items. The final rule was published on December 29th. The proposed rule, published in May 2014, suggested that a prior authorization requirement be imposed for selected HCPCS that are frequently subject to unnecessary utilization. The originally proposed master list consisted of 139 HCPCS.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 18, 2015)—Under a rare procedure to get a bill quickly considered by Congress, the The Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act (S. 2425) was passed by both the Senate and House today.
