Tag: Round 1 Recompete
CMS announces next round of bidding
April 21, 2015HME News Staff
BALTIMORE - CMS has detailed initial plans to implement a new Round 1 re-compete on Jan. 1, 2017.
Today's announcement comes less than a week after President Obama signed a “doc fix” bill that includes provisions requiring providers to be licensed and to obtain bid bonds as part of the program. The bill stipulates that CMS must implement the changes for contracts “not earlier than Jan. 1, 2017, and not later than Jan. 1, 2019.”
Stakeholders hope to work with CMS...
Study finds access issues for insulin pumps
February 11, 2015HME News Staff
CHICAGO - Contract suppliers aren't making insulin pumps and replacement supplies available to Medicare beneficiaries in competitive bidding areas, says the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
The AADE surveyed 29 suppliers in the nine initial CBAs to ask about the availability of specific brands and models of insulin pumps and supplies. Of those suppliers, only 17 (58%) reported carrying insulin pumps and only 18 (62%) reported carrying replacement supplies. Of those who offer insulin...
GAO analyzes bid program's impact
April 9, 2014HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The number of both beneficiaries and DME suppliers declined in Round 1 competitive bidding program areas in 2012, according to a new report issued yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
To conduct its study, the GAO compared Medicare claims data from 2011 and 2012 with 2010 for beneficiaries; and compared claims data for 2012 with 2010 for contract and non-contract suppliers. For monitoring purposes, CMS had selected nine “comparator” areas that were...
'Failure is not an option'
January 24, 2014Leah Hoenen
MATTHEWS, N.C. - As Carolina's Home Medical Equipment prepared for the Jan. 1 implementation of the Round 1 re-compete, President and CEO Frank Trammell took a few minutes to tell HME News what his company has done to remain viable in the competitive bidding market.
HME News: What did you learn from Round 1 that helped you in the re-compete? How did you prepare for this round?
Frank Trammell: Understanding how each line item is weighted and how it impacts the composite bid is extremely...
Round 1 re-compete: Overcome cuts with volume and diversification, says contract supplier
December 27, 2013Leah Hoenen
MATTHEWS, N.C. - As Carolina's Home Medical Equipment prepared for the Jan. 1 implementation of the Round 1 re-compete, President and CEO Frank Trammell took a few minutes to tell HME News what his company has done to remain viable in the competitive bidding market.HME News: What did you learn from Round 1 that helped you in the re-compete? What worked and what didn't? How did you prepare for this round?Frank Trammell: Understanding how each line item is weighted and how it impacts the composite...
Heartland IV Care sweeps enteral contracts
December 4, 2013HME News Staff
TOLEDO, Ohio - Heartland IV Care has been awarded contracts to provide enteral care in all nine competitive bid areas included in the Round 1 re-compete, the company announced Dec. 3. The company was awarded 41 contracts in Round 2. Heartland IV operates in partnership with Heartland Home Health Care and Hospice, both part of the HCR ManorCare family. HCR ManorCare is a provider of home infusion, home health care and hospice services, as well as short-term post-acute and long-term care services....
CMS announces bidding webinars
December 3, 2013HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Webinars on the Round 1 re-compete of competitive bidding have been scheduled for Dec. 9, Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, CMS has announced. Each lecture-style webinar is limited to 1,000 participants, and CMS asks each participant to register for only one session. Although questions will be taken, they will not be answered live, CMS says.
New contract suppliers, new licensure issues?
November 8, 2013Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - It's still early, but industry stakeholders are already hearing reports of licensure issues in the Round 1 re-compete.This time, however, it's licensed providers that say their bids were rejected because, according to the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC), they were not properly licensed.“We've just begun licensure analysis, but CMS seems to be making the same kind of mistakes,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare....
Industry to analyze list of contract suppliers
November 1, 2013Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - Now that they have both the single payment amounts and the names of the contract suppliers for the Round 1 re-compete in hand, HME industry stakeholders are wasting no time analyzing the information.“Has CMS made the same kind of mistakes that it's made in the past?” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare. “Are there licensing issues, are there accreditation issues? Those are certainly things we are going to look at.”When...
What's behind pattern of low bid rates?
November 1, 2013Elizabeth Deprey
WASHINGTON - HME providers say fear of being excluded from the Medicare program prompted the low reimbursement rates for the Round 1 re-compete.
“It's the old bullet to the head or slow death question, and nobody wants a bullet to the head,” said Frank Trammell, president and CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolina's Home Medical, which was awarded contracts for respiratory, mobility and NPWT. “It's about staying in the game and hoping to make it up in volume.”
CMS...