CMS signals return of DMEPOS competitive bidding 

WASHINGTON – The federal government is preparing to restart the DMEPOS competitive bidding program, according to two newly released documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS. 

In its FY 2026 Budget in Brief, HHS earmarked $22 million to relaunch the program, which has been on hiatus for several years. The document describes competitive bidding as a strategic investment that reduces costs for taxpayers while maintaining Medicare beneficiary access to affordable DME. 

“The competitive bidding program saves taxpayers money while ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries have easy access to affordable medical equipment,” the brief states. 

CMS outlines key steps to restart competitive bidding 

Further details are provided in CMS’s 194-page Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, which outlines a multi-phase plan to resume the program. According to a bulletin from AAHomecare, CMS will: 

• Migrate IT systems from the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) to the CMS Cloud environment 
• Complete the public notice and comment rulemaking process 
• Implement changes to: 
  • Establish sustainable DMEPOS pricing 
  • Reduce Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse 
  • Ensure beneficiary access to quality products and services 

Operational tasks for competitive bidding relaunch 

CMS also detailed several critical operational tasks required to restart the bidding process: 

• Bidder registration: Assisting suppliers in obtaining credentials to access the bidding system 
• Solicitation of bids: Managing call centers to support bidder inquiries 
• Bid evaluation: Including licensure and accreditation checks, surety bond validation, and document review 

Proposed rule under review, industry response expected 

AAHomecare reports that a new DME proposed rule—which includes competitive bidding provisions—has been under review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) since late April. These rules are typically published by July 1. 

“AAHomecare will continue to partner with industry stakeholders and members of Congress to ensure that bidding processes lead to sustainable prices,” the association stated. “The association will prioritize efforts to require bidders to be properly qualified and able to stand by their bids, to ensure appropriate price-setting mechanisms and transparency throughout the process and to limit CMS's ability to once again cancel the bidding results if they are not satisfied with the prices established.” 

The association urges the HME community to prepare strong, thoughtful public comments once the proposed rule is released.