Delay sought in competitive bidding

From: Pittsburgh Business Times

Kris B. Mamula

Durable medical equipment vendors are continuing their opposition to Medicare’s competitive bidding program, most recently trying to delay the latest round of the program July 1.

In a letter to Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Centre County, asked that the program be delayed while questions about vendor credentialing and other issues are resolved.

“For these and many reasons, we believe that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should delay implementation of Round 2 and review the program in its entirety,” Thompson wrote in the letter, which was also signed by Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Iowa.

U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Beaver, is among the sponsors of a bill that would replace the competitive bidding program.

Consumers have benefitted from significant savings on items such as home oxygen therapy supplies and hospital beds in areas where competitive bidding has been implemented, including the Pittsburgh area, CMS officials have said. But vendors say the program hurts small businesses at the expense of consumer service.