Tag: Round 2019
Just say no?
April 23, 2018Liz Beaulieu, Editor
During a round of many calls last week, I spoke with someone who attended Medtrade Spring last month who spoke with someone else in-the-know about Medicare's competitive bidding program. They discussed the question everyone wants answered: What. Will. Happen. Next?
Quick review: CMS on Jan. 31, 2017, announced its plans to consolidate all future rounds of competitive bidding into Round 2019, then on Feb. 7, 2017, the agency took it all back, saying it wanted to give the new administration the chance...
Round 2019: 'Unfeasible if CMS sticks to business as usual'
February 23, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - It's becoming less and less likely that CMS will make its target implementation date for Round 2019, industry stakeholders say.It has been a year since CMS put the brakes on Round 2019 of the competitive bidding program, and the agency still hasn't provided an update on its plans for the next bid round.“If I were a betting person, I'd say it's certainly not going to happen on Jan. 1, 2019,” said Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs for AAHomecare. “At...
Round 2019 remains a mystery
August 25, 2017Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON - HME providers shouldn't be worried that they're closing in on one year before the launch of Round 2019 of competitive bidding and they don't have any details on how CMS plans to proceed, stakeholders say.CMS announced earlier this year that it would temporarily delay Round 2019 to give the new administration, including Tom Price, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, time to review the program. Since then, it has been radio silence.“That it's taking this...
Round 2019 improves process, but providers wait and see
March 10, 2017Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine - With Round 2019 of the competitive bidding program on hold indefinitely, providers like Woody O'Neal say they're holding off doing any prep work for submitting bids, when and if it goes forward.“I don't think we will even spend any man hours on it until something official is announced, said O'Neal, vice president of O2 Neal Medical in Pelham, Ala. “It could change significantly or not happen at all, and I'd rather not spend staff time on it at this point.”When...
Providers cheer bid delay
February 17, 2017Liz Beaulieu, Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine - CMS's recent decision to temporarily delay Round 2019 of competitive bidding has given HME providers a ray of hope that substantive changes will be made to the program.The agency said it was delaying Round 2019 to give the new administration—not only President Donald Trump but also recently confirmed HHS Secretary Tom Price—time to review the program.“Dr. Price has a history of being a champion for our industry,” wrote Bruce Sandler of Wishing U Well Medical...
Stakeholders stand ready to change bid program, with Price's help
February 13, 2017Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - CMS's decision to temporarily delay Round 2019 of competitive bidding could mean a revamp of the program, now that Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., is taking the helm at the Department of Health and Human Services, say industry stakeholders.CMS said on Feb. 7 it was delaying Round 2019 to give the new administration time to review the competitive bidding program. The announcement came one week after the agency announced it would consolidate all future rounds of competitive bidding into Round 2019.“Given...
CMS taps the brakes on Round 2019
February 7, 2017HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - CMS has decided to temporarily delay Round 2019 of competitive bidding to give the new administration the chance to review the program.The agency made the announcement on Feb. 7, about a week after announcing it would consolidate all rounds of competitive bidding into Round 2019.CMS has removed all information on Round 2019 that was released Jan. 31, including information on the agency's website and the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor website.The agency advises providers...
CMS adds teeth to bid program
February 3, 2017Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - After several rounds of the competitive bidding program now under its belt, CMS has implemented improvements to Round 2019 that could curb the ongoing race to the bottom, say industry stakeholders.The biggest improvement, say stakeholders: the bid ceiling has been moved to the 2015 fee schedule amounts. Previously, the bid ceiling had reset to each new round of bid rates.“Raising the bid ceiling is a huge indication that CMS thinks they've hit rock bottom—and gone below rock...