CMS to Brief PAOC 6/30 — Will Not Release Rates

CMS is expected to brief the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee (PAOC) regarding rates for durable medical equipment.  The briefing will take place on Wednesday June 30 at 9:15 am. The single payment amount rates will not be released on the 30th.   Release of the competitive bid rates will likely be released later in the week.

Release of Single Payment Amounts May Be Delayed

According to information released by VGM, the release by CMS of the “single-payment amounts,” the amount CMS will pay for DME items in the Round 1 competitive bidding areas.  VGM attributes the likely delay to an article in Inside Health Policy.

Below is the verbatin story from VGM with a link to the article:

Competitive Bidding: Bid Rates Unlikely to Be Released Today
Because of a June 10 Inside Health Policy report, many DME providers and industry leaders expected CMS to announce the “winning” bids for the DME competitive bidding program today.  The report noted that CMS was to announce the single-payment amounts on June 25 and claim savings for the program before lawmakers leave for the July 4 recess.   However, according to AAHomecare’s Walt Gorski and the CBIC, it is unlikely that CMS will make this announcement until later this month.