Competitive Bidding:
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FINAL RULE DELAY--HERE'S HOW TO PREPARE
Published on Thu Feb 01, 2007
Hint: Focus on these 3 key factors.
If you're waiting for a final rule before you hunker down for competitive bidding, think again.
The longer you delay your planning, the bigger risks you may face under Medicare's coming new method of paying for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS)--and the feds are taking their time in issuing a final rule.
First the feds said "fall," then "end of the year," and now it's "spring," says Maryanne Popovich of the Joint Commission (formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), referring to a string of projections about when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would unveil the final reg.
"It's still anyone's guess" when suppliers will see the rule, allows Popovich.
Reality check: But a delay in publishing a final rule does not mean CMS will postpone the program. And as the calendar pages flip, experts are strengthening their call to be proactive, not reactive, in the days leading up to competitive bidding.
The new market is "literally around the corner," said Miriam Lieber of Miriam L. Lieber Consulting in California, speaking Feb. 15 at an American Association of Homecare teleconference on the topic.
Lieber and others counsel suppliers to proceed by taking steps to make sure their businesses are running at top efficiency, a move that makes sense regardless of how Medicare pays for supplies. Inspect Your Strengths--And Weaknesses "This is an opportune time to take a look at your operation to see how you can home in on efficiencies," said Lieber.
To focus your streamlining efforts, consider what is known about competitive bidding so far. 1. Competitive bidding will affect your business, sooner or later, one way or another. Putting off preparations can put your business at risk.
Big mistake: Do not assume that these circum-stances insulate you from change:
• You are not in one of the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) ultimately chosen in the first round of competitive bidding;
• You are in a rural area that won't be affected;
• You deal in a product that's not likely to be included in Phase One.
Even if those "maybes" apply to you, it's wise to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible about competitive bidding, starting now, says Wayne Link of the North Carolina-based Link Consulting Group.
Incentive: As companies gear up for competitive bidding, competition in general will heat up. And other payers, including additional Medicaid programs, may follow Medicare's foray into competitive bidding.
Whether you wind up seeking a contract--or selling your company because you decide it won't be profitable to contend with the new market realities--you'll want your business to be running at top efficiency to maximize returns, said Lieber.
Tip: It's not where your business resides but where your [...]
