Reimbursement for DMEPOS items covered in the re-compete of Round Two of competitive bidding suffered an average 7.1 percent cut, according to the latest research from the American Association for Homecare.
AAHomecare started its analysis of the Round Two re-compete after CMS released the new single payment amounts for the Round Two re-compete in mid March, and began sending contract offers to winning bidders.
Nearly all categories suffered cuts in the re-compete, according to the following chart from AAHomecare. The few categories that saw improvement are highlighted in blue.
% CHANGE PER CATEGORY |
MIDWEST |
NORTHEAST |
SOUTH |
WEST |
TOTAL |
CPAP |
-13.7% |
-16.7% |
-14.1% |
-15.6% |
-14.9% |
OXYGEN |
-13.8% |
-15.1% |
-13.4% |
-13.6% |
-13.9% |
RAD |
-4.4% |
-9.9% |
-6.9% |
-7.7% |
-7.2% |
CPAP/RAD ACCESSORIES AND SUPPLIES |
-6.5% |
-8.0% |
-6.7% |
-8.3% |
-7.2% |
ENTERAL EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES |
-6.5% |
-2.4% |
-4.8% |
-3.4% |
-4.4% |
ENTERAL NUTRITION |
-6.1% |
-5.7% |
-5.7% |
-4.4% |
-4.6% |
HOSPITAL BEDS MANUAL |
0.4% |
3.4% |
0.2% |
-1.4% |
0.7% |
HOSPITAL BEDS SEMI-ELECTRIC |
-13.2% |
-13.5% |
-8.6% |
-12.3% |
-11.9% |
HOSPITAL BED ACCESSORIES |
-4.8% |
-3.4% |
-4.0% |
-8.2% |
-5.1% |
WALKERS |
11.2% |
2.0% |
5.4% |
2.9% |
5.4% |
MANUAL WHEELCHAIRS |
-9.8% |
-20.2% |
-8.0% |
-14.7% |
-13.2% |
POWER WHEELCHAIRS |
-3.7% |
-6.1% |
-3.5% |
-6.6% |
-5.0% |
SCOOTERS |
-2.2% |
-0.6% |
1.8% |
-4.8% |
-1.5% |
SEAT CUSHION |
-1.1% |
-3.1% |
-0.9% |
-4.9% |
-2.5% |
WHEELCHAIR ACCESSORIES |
3.2% |
-0.2% |
1.0% |
-1.9% |
0.5% |
NPWT SUPPLIES |
4.1% |
3.0% |
1.9% |
3.6% |
2.9% |
NPWT PUMP |
-21.0% |
-21.0% |
-17.8% |
-25.2% |
-20.6% |
SUPPORT SURFACES (E0277) |
-23.7% |
-26.9% |
-22.7% |
-31.3% |
-25.5% |
TOTAL AVERAGE REDUCTION |
-6.2% |
-8.0% |
-5.9% |
-8.8% |
-7.1% |
All told, CMS offered more than 12,000 contracts to 637 bidders. The Round Two re-compete contracts become effective on July 1 and run through Dec. 31, 2018.
Categories CMS added to the Round Two Re-compete that were not part of the original Round Two bidding include nebulizers and related supplies; TENS devices and supplies; commodes; urinals and bed pans; patient lifts; and seat lift mechanisms.