OIG updates Medicare market shares for diabetes test strips
By HME News Staff
Updated Tue February 7, 2017
WASHINGTON - Suppliers in Medicare's national mail-order program provided 18 types of diabetes test strips to beneficiaries from July through September 2016, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.
The top strip type accounted for 43% of the mail-order market, and the top 10 strip types accounted for 98% of the market, the OIG found.
The OIG conducted its report by sampling 1,210 claims from a population of 456,784 claims for mail-order test strips.
Suppliers must comply with a rule outlined in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) that they provide at least 50% (by volume) of the types of test strips provided to beneficiaries. The OIG states suppliers could comply with this rule by committing to provide at least two strip types.
This is the second of three reports from the OIG to determine the market shares of diabetes test strips for the periods April through June 2016; July through September 2016; and October through December 2016. This most recent report assesses the market shares for test strips for the three-month period after the implementation of the current mail-order program, which started on July 1.
The OIG's previous report for the period April through June 2016 found two strip types accounted for about half of the mail-order market, and the top 10 strip types accounted for 93% of the market.
Comments