New Jersey schedules giant auction for used DME

TRENTON, N.J. -- The state of New Jersey has taken a page from eBay's book and plans to use an online auction to sell more than 4,000 pieces of used durable medical equipment later this month. This equipment was previously distributed by a contract provider that inventoried, collected, cleaned/sanitized, inspected, and refurbished the equipment for redistribution to Medicaid clients throughout New Jersey--a process known as "recycling." The equipment to be auctioned includes manual and electric beds, canes, walkers, crutches, commode & tub chairs, over-bed tables, manual and electric wheel chairs, and assorted other items. Although most auctioned DME will be refurbished to like-new condition, some may be auctioned with missing parts or with parts included but not installed, say state officials. The products will be sorted and auctioned by HCPCS category. The size of each HCPCS "lot" will depend on the article itself, its value and quantities available. For example, manual beds will be grouped by HCPCS code E0256 and auctioned in a lot size of, say, 50 each. Specialized electric wheelchairs will be auctioned off as individual items. The online auction company, Bid4Assets, will conduct the auction through a dedicated storefront, www.bid4assets.com. Tentatively, providers should be able to log onto the site July 21 to preview the sales items. Bidding is scheduled to begin July 28. After logging onto the site, look for the State of New Jersey DME Auctions under the storefront menu.