Tag: round 2

WASHINGTON - Round 2 of Medicare's competitive bidding program does not appear to have impacted access to oxygen or enteral supplies for most beneficiaries, according to two new reports from the Office of Inspector General.The OIG analyzed claims data from three months before and six months after the July 1, 2013, kick-off of the program in both CBAs and non-CBAs.For oxygen, the OIG found that Medicare payments continued for 86% of beneficiaries in CBAs and 89% of beneficiaries in non-CBAs. Those...

WASHINGTON - Round 2 of Medicare's competitive bidding program does not appear to have impacted access to oxygen or enteral supplies for most beneficiaries, according to two new reports from the Office of Inspector General.The OIG analyzed claims data from three months before and six months after the July 1, 2013, kick-off of the program in both CBAs and non-CBAs.For oxygen, the OIG found that Medicare payments continued for 86% of beneficiaries in CBAs and 89% of beneficiaries in non-CBAs. Those...

WASHINGTON - The number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving DMEPOS in Round 2 areas decreased more than twice as much from 2012 to 2014 than in non-bid areas, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.The number of beneficiaries receiving DMEPOS in Round 2 areas decreased 17% from 2012, the year before bid pricing went into effect, to 2014, the year after. The number of beneficiaries in non-bid areas decreased 6% during the same time period.“CMS officials stated that...

YARMOUTH, Maine - Respondents to a recent HME NewsPoll are split over whether accepting a competitive bidding contract from Medicare is a good idea.Fifty-four percent of respondents said that, in general, they did not accept the majority of the contracts they were offered, while 32% said they accepted a contract the first time around, but not the second.One reason: “(It's) not worth it,” said Jill Duda, business operations manager at Philadelphia-based Flagship Medical, of the decrease...

WASHINGTON - In a sign that contract offers might be on their way, HME providers who submitted bids as part of the Round 2 and the national mail-order re-compete may now register for Connexion.Contract offers and other correspondence for the Round 2 and national mail-order re-compete will be communicated only through Connexion, a new secure, online portal, according to an update posted to the CBIC website Feb. 17.“These items will not be mailed,” the agency stated.To respond to offers...

YARMOUTH, Maine - Provider Brent Bradshaw says Round 2 of competitive bidding has sparked a disturbing trend: contract suppliers billing patients for brake attachments for walkers that CMS has already paid for.CMS last month cautioned providers about “unbundling” walkers and brake attachments. When providers sell walkers with brake attachments (E0141, E0143 and E0149), reimbursement is for the whole unit, the agency stated.Bradshaw, president of Durable Medical Equipment Inc., in Austin,...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Apria Healthcare has already felt the sting of the Round 2 bid rates, company officials said during an earnings call Nov. 12.Apria reported net revenues of $607.2 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2013, a decrease of $1.3 million from the same quarter last year. Net loss was $15.8 million.“Almost the entire decrease is due to the competitive bidding cuts that were effective July 1, 2013,” said CEO John Figueroa.Apria accepted 371 contracts under Round...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI) has reported a drop in third-quarter revenues: $320.9 million in 2013 vs. $329.7 million in 2012, a 2.7% decrease. The company said the decline stems from Round 2 of competitive bidding. KCI products that fall under the program's umbrella saw a 42% price reduction. “KCI would have reported positive revenue growth in the third quarter, exclusive of this one item,” stated CFO Robert Hureau.

WASHINGTON - It's still early, but industry stakeholders are already hearing reports of licensure issues in the Round 1 re-compete.This time, however, it's licensed providers that say their bids were rejected because, according to the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC), they were not properly licensed.“We've just begun licensure analysis, but CMS seems to be making the same kind of mistakes,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare....

WASHINGTON - Now that they have both the single payment amounts and the names of the contract suppliers for the Round 1 re-compete in hand, HME industry stakeholders are wasting no time analyzing the information.“Has CMS made the same kind of mistakes that it's made in the past?” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare. “Are there licensing issues, are there accreditation issues? Those are certainly things we are going to look at.”When...