CMS sent a reminder to bidders in the re-bid of round one of its national competitive bidding program that they have 10 days left to submit their bids.
Specifically, all bids must be submitted in DBidS, its online bidding system, by 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Dec 21, and all required hardcopy documents that must be included as part of the bid package must be postmarked by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 21.
CMS noted some key considerations for providers to remember when submitting their bids:
Providers must submit bids in DBidS using the user ID they received during registration. If a provider has not already logged in to DBidS, CMS strongly recommend that it does so before Dec. 7, in order to have plenty of time to complete its bid. Providers must answer at least two and up to 10 authentication questions the first time they log in.
All bidders must submit certain required hardcopy documents as specified in the Request for Bids (RFB) instructions. It is very important that providers review Appendix B of the RFB instructions and the sample financial statements to ensure their documents include the required information. If a provider has already submitted its financial documents, it may still amend those documents until bidding closes on Dec. 21.
Providers are required to indicate your bidder number on each page of their hardcopy documents.
If a provider submitted financial documents by the Covered Document Review Date (CDRD), Nov. 21, it will receive an e-mail about its financial documents from the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) by Dec. 29. If it submitted all financial documents, the e-mail will confirm that the CBIC received all financial documents and that no further action from you is required. If it did not submit all financial documents, the e-mail will alert the provider to expect a letter notifying you of the missing financial documents. The letter notifying the provider of missing financial documents will be mailed to its authorized official by Jan. 4, 2010. The letter will identify the missing document(s) as of the CDRD. The provider will be required to submit only the indicated missing financial document(s) within 10 business days of the notification. If it did not submit any financial documents by the CDRD, the provider will not receive an e-mail or a letter about its financial documents.
If a provider did not submit any hardcopy financial documents by the CDRD, it is still required to submit all required hardcopy documents specified in the Request for Bids (RFB) instructions by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 21.
The round one re-bid competitive bidding areas (CBAs), product categories, DBidS information, bidding information charts, educational materials, and complete RFB instructions can be found on the CBIC website. Providers should review this information prior to submitting their bid(s).
For more information, visit the CBIC website at www.dmecompetitivebid.com.
