A nationwide expansion of competitive bidding would harm patients and providers, according to a survey recently concluded by the VGM Group.
The survey was part of an effort to facilitate and consolidate industry response to a request for public comment made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in regards to a plan to expand the competitive bidding program nationwide by 2016 (CMS-1460-ANPRM).
VGM’s online survey asked six questions that reflect the questions asked by CMS about expanding the competitive bidding program. The questions provide examples and are simplified to better reflect a provider’s day-to-day business experience.
“Our staff reviewed the CMS instructions and online tools to see if the public comment process was simple to understand and complete quickly,” said John Gallagher, vice president-government relations, in a public statement. “What they found was far from ideal for busy business owners. So we developed a straightforward solution that can be completed in a short amount of time.”
The survey ran from Feb. 27 to March 21, and VGM received 854 surveys through the effort. Submitted surveys were processed and sent to CMS by courier before the March 28 deadline.
The organization noted that 493 of the responses included specific comments addressing at least one of the six issues requested of CMS for response. Overall, VGM said the consensus of the replies to the survey were that competitive bidding program and the current pricing structure are harmful to patients, their caregivers, referral sources and HME businesses.
“We were pleased to receive details from the survey respondents that helped to better identify the diversity of issues experienced by providers who are being subjected to one-size-fits-all policies,” a survey synopsis from VGM read.