Skip to Content

OIG: Handful of strips dominated Medicare mail-order market

OIG: Handful of strips dominated Medicare mail-order market

WASHINGTON - The top two strips accounted for 53% of the Medicare mail-order market, and the top 10 strips accounted for 98% of the market, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.

Overall, suppliers in Medicare's national mail-order program provided 17 types of test strips during the three-month period between April 1, 2018, and June 30, 2018, the OIG found.

To conduct the report, the OIG sampled 1,210 claims from a population of 313,704 claims.

Suppliers must comply with a rule outlined in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) requiring them to provide at least 50% (by volume) of the types of test strips provided to beneficiaries.

The budget for the Department of Health and Human Services for fiscal year 2019 included a provision that would strengthen the 50% rule by requiring bidders to attest to their ability to maintain an inventory of strips consistent with their bid, and requiring CMS to establish and maintain a surveillance program to ensure suppliers are complying with the rule.

All competitive bidding contracts expired Dec. 31, 2018.

 

Comments

To comment on this post, please log in to your account or set up an account now.