Speaking in Washington, D.C. last week, CMS Acting Deputy Administrator Herb Kuhn said CMS is focused on implementing national competitive bidding and is already getting ready for round two.
In his speech to the Association for Homecare’s Legislative Conference, Kuhn said DMEs need to understand that his agency is serious about moving from a mere claims payer to an active health-care purchaser and is looking for the greatest possible value. Accreditation and competitive bidding are two fundamental ways CMS is putting this new outlook into effect.
Kuhn said CMS’ “fundamental transformation” means it is “focusing on prevention, pay for reporting, pay for performance, transparency, cost-effectiveness and yes, it also means competitive bidding.”
Meeting consistent resistance from his audience, Kuhn dismissed comments during a question-and-answer session about the adverse affect of competitive bidding on the DME industry by saying, “What we’re committed to right now is implementing the MMA Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and the competitive bidding program as part of the law.”
Even as Kuhn spoke last week, word spread across the country that CMS’ online competitive-bidding system was making it difficult, if not impossible, for DMEs to submit bids. While many couldn’t access the system, others found their passwords weren’t recognized. Still others were frustrated because they couldn’t even use the system to ask for help.
Still, the June 30 deadline for DMEs to get their passwords and IDs looms large, as does the July 13 deadline for DMEs in the first 10 rollout cities to submit their bids.
