Suppliers Bid to Serve Medicare Beneficiaries in Nine Competitive Bidding Areas
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Medicare-approved medical equipment suppliers will have 60 days in which to submit bids for the Round One Rebid of the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) in nine communities.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today began accepting bids from accredited and bonded medical equipment suppliers after implementing a number of important modifications to the program and conducting an intensive supplier outreach and education effort. Currently 93 percent of all medical equipment suppliers across the country– including those in the competitive bidding areas – have met Medicare’s accreditation requirements.
“Competitive bidding is an essential tool to help Medicare beneficiaries pay appropriately for high quality health care items and services furnished by Medicare-approved suppliers,” said Jonathan Blum, director of CMS’ Center for Medicare Management. “We worked closely with stakeholders and members of the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee, which represents beneficiaries, manufacturers and suppliers, to help us implement the program with benefits for patients, taxpayers, and the entire health care system.”
Suppliers in the nine communities (see information on these locations below) that bid over the next 60 days should find that CMS has made a number of changes to help them successfully submit a bid and ensure that suppliers that are awarded contracts are those best able to serve beneficiaries. These changes include:
· Early Comprehensive Bidder Education Program that began in August 2009 in an effort to help suppliers understand all aspects of the bid submission and evaluation processes.
· User- friendly Bid Submission Process that provides a new on-line bidding system, upgraded Request for Bids instructions, and a special process for suppliers to have their financial bid documents reviewed for completeness.
· Enhanced Scrutiny of Bidders that includes up-front licensure verification, accreditation of subcontractors, and bidder disclosure of subcontractors.
· Updated Bid Evaluation Process that requires suppliers to meet financial standards and evaluates bidders’ capacity and expansion plans to ensure that there are enough suppliers to provide beneficiaries with ready access to quality items and services in the nine areas.
“We expect that these and other refinements will result in the selection of quality contract suppliers offering a choice of products to beneficiaries at a substantial savings,” said Blum.
Suppliers that have completed the bidder registration process may now access the on-line bidding system and begin the process of submitting their bids. Information and materials may be found at www.dmecompetitivebid.com and a special toll-free help line (1-877-577-5331) has been established to assist bidders with questions and concerns.
For additional information about the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, please visit: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/.
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