Shortly after the industry called on hospitals to come out against the national expansion of competitive bidding, the University of California Health System filed comments on CMS’s latest proposed rulemaking on the bid program that it is seeing multiple problems with the program.
The UC System reported in its comments that its member hospitals are having difficulty getting DME for patients under the program, and that its discharge personnel “express frustration that they are no longer able to select DME suppliers based on what is in the patient’s best interest, but must use suppliers that, in their view, provide sub-standard customer service and often cannot meet the patient’s needs — ultimately compromising care outcomes.”
The system also noted that it did not feel CMS systems for filing complaint about the system was up to the task of adequately and accurately reflect stakeholder dissatisfaction.
“While we acknowledge a process for providers to report formal complaints exists, we do not believe it is meeting the needs of beneficiaries and providers to ensure patients receive timely problem resolution,” the comments read. “In addition, the multiple processes outlined by CMS have made it difficult for hospitals to escalate issues and resolve issues in a timely way.”
The full comments are available at bit.ly/2d2d6c9.
The UC Health System is America’s largest academic health system, and includes 12 hospitals and 18 health professional schools over seven California campuses located in Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and San Francisco.