The June 4 update of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare competitive bidding website for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) includes information on lead items for bid categories and accompanying pricing.
The update marked the start of CMS’s “pre-bidding supplier awareness program.” This summer, CMS is also due to announce the dates for registration and bidding and the number of contracts to be awarded for each product category. In late fall, CMS said suppliers will register to submit bids, and the bidding window will open.
Contracts and single payment amounts are due to be announced in late summer/early fall of 2027, with the start of the 2028 round beginning no later than Jan. 1, 2028. CMS indicated all dates listed except for the June 4 supplier awareness program start date are “target dates.”
Lead item bidding and pricing announced
Because CMS will use “a lead item pricing methodology for all product categories,” the agency has announced the following lead products for its competitive bidding categories, along with bid limit prices.
“The bid amounts for lead items [with HCPCS codes] L0651 and L1852” — off-the-shelf back and knee braces, respectively — “must be at or below the average of the 2026 adjusted fee schedule amounts for all nonrural areas,” CMS said. “The bid amounts for all other lead items in Round 2028 of the DMEPOS CBP [competitive bidding program] must be at or below the average of the 2026 unadjusted fee schedule amounts for all states/territories.”
For product category “Class II Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps,” the lead item is A4239 — Supply allowance for non-adjunctive, non-implanted continuous glucose monitor, includes all supplies and accessories, one month supply = one unit of service. The bid limit is $273.28.
Hydrophilic urinary catheters: Lead item is A4296 — Intermittent urinary catheter; coude (curved) tip, hydrophilic coating, each. Bid limit: $8.86.
Ostomy supplies: Lead item is A4385 — Ostomy skin barrier, solid 4×4 or equivalent, extended wear, without built-in convexity, each. Bid limit: $7.28.
Off-the-shelf back braces: Lead item is L0651 — Lumbar-sacral orthosis, sagittal-coronal control, rigid shell(s)/panel(s), posterior extends from sacrococcygeal junction to T9 vertebra, etc. Bid limit: $855.26.
Off-the-shelf knee braces: Lead item is L1852 — Knee orthosis, double upright, thigh and calf, with adjustable flexion and extension joint (unicentric or polycentric), medial-lateral and rotation control, with or without varus/valgus adjustment, prefabricated, off-the-shelf. Bid limit: $691.80.
Off-the-shelf extremity braces: Lead item is L3916 — Wrist hand orthosis, includes one or more non-torsion joint(s), elastic bands, turnbuckles, may include soft interface, straps, prefabricated, off-the-shelf. Bid limit: $591.58.
Urological supplies: Lead item is A4352 — Intermittent urinary catheter; coude (curved) tip, with or without coating (teflon, silicone, or silicone elastomeric, etc.), each. Bid limit: $8.86.
The update also includes information on bid surety bonds, bidder eligibility, contract supplier obligations, and the remote item delivery (RID) competitive bidding program.
The new RID program will require contracted suppliers to be “responsible for furnishing the applicable item(s) to all Medicare beneficiaries regardless of where they live in the RID competitive bidding area (CBA),” the update said. “The RID CBA could be one nationwide CBA that includes all areas (all states, territories, and the District of Columbia) or a CBA covering a specific region of the country.
“For Round 2028 of the DMEPOS CBP, CMS will have one nationwide RID CBA that includes all states, territories, and the District of Columbia.”
