Competitive Bidding:
BIDDING STEAMROLLS TOWARD JULY 1 IMPLEMENTATION
Published on Mon May 12, 2008
Suppliers pull out all the stops to get the program delayed.
Both suppliers and the feds are working furiously in anticipation of the July 1 implementation of competitive bidding for durable medical equipment, but who will win out is still a big question mark.
DME suppliers want to see competitive bidding, which is set to take effect in 10 metro areas next month, delayed or canceled altogether. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is dead set on implementing the program next month as planned.
"The dire prediction of NAIMES and other industry advocates are coming true everyday as implementation comes closer," warns the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers in a message to members.
Now the American Association for Homecare has filed suit to stop the program. The suit filed June 9 in Washington, DC federal court cites faulty implementation as the reason for an injunction halting the program, according to an AAHomecare release. "Regulatory implementation of the bidding program has resulted in numerous violations of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Action of 2003 (MMA), the Small Business Act, and the Administrative Procedures Act," the trade group says.
The federal lawsuit names Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Micheal Leavitt and CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems as defendants.
Meanwhile, work on the political side isn't slowing down either. Various lawmakers have been calling for a bidding delay for some time. Now a letter from 132 members of the House has asked the House Ways and Means Committee and its health subcommittee to delay bidding before it's too late.
"It is of the utmost importance that we protect access to quality medical supplies for all of our seniors," says the letter authored by Reps. John Tanner (D-TN), David Hobson (R-OH) and Jason Altmire (D-PA). "We urge that the implementation of Round 1 be delayed for at least a year."
Forty senators signed on to a similar June 10 letter to Senate leaders, including Finance Chair Max Baucus (D-MT), AAHomecare reports.
And the chair of the House Small Business Committee, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) also sent a letter to the Health subcommittee urging a delay. "CMS has failed to address a number of shortcomings in the bidding process," the letter says.
"While we continue a full-court press on the legislative front to delay the bidding program, we also want to get the courts involved in reviewing this troubled program," notes AAHomecare's Tyler Wilson in a release. "The bidding program will put thousands of home care providers out of business, and patients' access to quality home medical equipment and services will suffer as a result."
Holding its ground: But CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems is fighting back with statements to the press.
A delay would mean [...]
