The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers says it has “sought council of a Washington, DC law firm” to determine the feasibility of stopping CMS from implementing round one of competitive bidding due to the volume of complaints from providers who did not receive contracts due to technicalities.

“We are hearing from dozens of suppliers who have received notices of exclusion from the Medicare program based on errors in the evaluation process,” said NAIMES President and CEO Wayne Stanfield.

The Association said in a public statement that lawyers have told it that there “constitutional concerns within the law, as well as the regulations.” It added that many suppliers were excluded for technicalities that “have proven to be errors within CMS’s own evaluation process.”

NAIMES, with help from the Health Law Center and VGM & Associations, is collecting information from suppliers who did not receive round one contracts due to technicalities.

To that end, NAIMES is seeking providers who were refused a contract due to technicalities to email (yourfuture@medhelp.org) or fax (434-572-6889) information about their circumstances and willingness to be a plaintiff. The association needs:

1.    Company name and  address.
2.    Principles’ names.
3.    Phone and fax  numbers.
4.    CBA(s) in which the provider bid.
5.    Reasons why the bid was not  accepted.
6.    Statement of evidence supporting the providers’ belief that the reasons are invalid, in error, or unjust.   
7.    The providers’ willingness be a plaintiff in the case.

“The attorneys are working on a proposal for our review and we expect a decision by our team to follow early next week,” said NAIMES Chairman Wayne Sale.