Data demonstrates bid program's ripple effect

YARMOUTH, Maine - Medicare spending in certain competitive bid areas continues to nosedive, according to 2014 data added this week to the HME Databank.

In Riverside County, Calif., a Round 1 area, Medicare spending on oxygen concentrators dropped from $2.37 million in 2013 to $1.55 million in 2014. In 2011, the year the program rolled out, Medicare spending on E1390 was $3.28 million.

In other areas, like Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, a Round 1 area, Medicare spending on oxygen concentrators remained relatively stable, from $1.48 million in 2013 to $1.31 million in 2014. That's still a far cry, however, from the $2.17 million Medicare spent in 2011.

Overall, Medicare spending was $908.3 million for oxygen concentrators in 2014, compared to $1.06 billion in 2013, according to the Databank.

Which providers received the lion's share of that spending in 2014?

Lincare took the No. 1 spot by a landslide, receiving $242.5 million from Medicare for E1390, according to the Databank. Not so close behind: Apria Healthcare at No. 2, receiving $26.4 million, and Inogen at No. 3, receiving $16.4 million. Rounding out the top five: Braden Partners (which does business as Pacific Pulmonary Services) and Health Care Solutions at Home.

In addition to oxygen concentrators, the Databank tracks Medicare spending for more than 400 products included in the bid program and tracks the top providers for more than 250 products.

For CPAP devices, for example, total Medicare spending was $136.2 million in 2014, compared to $169.5 million in 2013.

Lincare and Apria, again, took the top spots here, receiving $6.7 million and $5.9 million, respectively, from Medicare in 2014, followed by American HomePatient at $3.3 million. Rounding out the top five: Norco and SleepMed Therapies.