The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has announced the Round 2 timeline and mail-order competition for the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS). CMS also launched a comprehensive education program to guide suppliers through the competitive bidding process.
The first phase was successfully implemented in nine competitive bidding areas for nine product categories on January 1, 2011. The program has already saved Medicare 35% compared with the fee schedule.
The bidder education program guides DMEPOS suppliers through the competitive bidding process, ensuring that they have all the necessary information to complete a bid. The information includes bidding rules, user guides, policy fact sheets, checklists and bidding information charts, as well as, a series of webcasts providing suppliers with all relevant information.
“We have considered feedback from many stakeholders to implement process improvements to make the competitive bidding program even stronger,” Jonathan Blum, the deputy CMS administrator and director of the Center for Medicare, stated in the release. “In addition to the enhancements we’ve made to our bidder education program, we will be strengthening our rigorous bid evaluation process by increasing our scrutiny of bids.”
Round 2 expands the program to 91 additional metropolitan areas and includes some additional product categories. The national mail order competition, which aims to bring down prices for mail-order diabetic supplies, will coincide with the Round 2 timeline.
The timeline is as follows:
- 12/5: Registration for user IDs and passwords begins
- 12/22: Authorized officials are strongly encouraged to register no later than this date
- 1/12/12: Backup authorized officials are strongly encouraged to register no later than this date
- 1/30/12: CMS opens 60-day bid window for Round 2 and mail-order competitions
- 2/9/12: Registration closes
- 2/29/12: Covered document review date for bidders to submit financial documents
- 3/30/12: 60-day bid window closes
- Fall 2012: CMS announces single payment amounts, begins contracting process
- Spring 2013: CMS announces suppliers, begins contract supplier education campaign
- Spring 2013: CMS begins supplier, referral agent and beneficiary campaign
- 7/1/13: Implementation of Medicare DMEPOS competitive bidding program Round 2 and national mail-order competition
contracts and prices
For more information, visit www.dmecompetitivebid.com.
