Bidding is Now Open for the Round 1 Recompete of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program

From: CMS

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is now soliciting bids for the Round 1 Recompete of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program.

All bids must be submitted in DBidS, the online bidding system, before 9:00 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time on December 14, 2012. All required hardcopy documents that must be included as part of the bid package must be RECEIVED by the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) on or before December 14, 2012. The contract period for the Round 1 Recompete is January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2016.

All bidders must submit certain required hardcopy documents as specified in the Request for Bids (RFB) instructions. CMS urges all bidders to take advantage of the covered document review process. Under this process, we will notify suppliers that submit their hardcopy financial documents by the covered document review date (CDRD) of any missing financial documents. The CDRD for the Round 1 Recompete is November 14, 2012 – financial documents must be RECEIVED on or before November 14, 2012, to qualify for the covered document review process. This process only determines if there are any missing financial documents. It does not indicate if the documents are acceptable, accurate, or meet applicable requirements. Suppliers that submit financial documents by the CDRD will be notified of any missing financial documents within 90 days of the CDRD. Suppliers will be required to submit the missing financial document(s) within 10 business days of the notification.

Competitive bidding areas and product categories for the Round 1 Recompete, DBidS information, bid preparation worksheets, educational materials, and complete RFB instructions can be found on this website. Suppliers should review this information prior to submitting their bids. CMS will send important bidding updates via e-mail, so all suppliers interested in bidding are urged to sign up for e-mail updates on this website (at www.DMECompetitiveBid.com). If you have any questions about the bidding process, please contact the CBIC customer service center at 877-577-5331.

The target registration dates for authorized officials (AOs) and backup authorized officials (BAOs) to register for a user ID and password in CMS’ Individuals Authorized Access to the CMS Computer Services (IACS) system have passed. End users (EUs), as well as any AOs and BAOs who have not yet registered, should now be registering. Only suppliers that have registered in IACS and received a user ID and password will be able to access the online bidding system and submit bids. If the AO for your company has not already registered, we cannot guarantee that he or she will be able to complete the registration process before registration closes. If your AO does not register, you cannot bid and will not be eligible for a contract. In addition, suppliers whose AOs have not registered are at risk of experiencing delays in accessing the online bidding system to get a bidder number and thereby missing the opportunity to submit financial documents by the CDRD.

Registration will close on October 19, 2012, at 9 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time – no AOs, BAOs, or EUs can register after registration closes. Suppliers that do not register cannot bid and are not eligible for contracts.

Registration is typically a quick and easy process if you follow the step-by-step instructions in the “IACS Reference Guide” posted on this website.

To register, visit the CBIC website and click on Round 1 Recompete. Next, click, “REGISTRATION IS OPEN” above the Registration Clock on that page. Please note that suppliers with multiple locations typically must register only one Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN) that will submit the bid for all locations. If you have any questions about the registration process, please contact the CBIC customer service center.

To bid, visit the CBIC website and click on Round 1 Recompete. Next click “BIDDING IS OPEN” above the clocks on that page.

Please note that the RFB instructions initially posted on this website contained target bid submission deadlines. CMS is in the process of updating these instructions to reflect the actual bid submission deadlines, which are shown in this announcement.