Latest on CBP: VGM hosts webinar, AAH promises fight, AdvaMed urges caution 

WATERLOO, Iowa – VGM & Associates will host a webinar today, Dec. 3, at 11 a.m. CST to break down the recently released rule finalizing plans for Medicare's next round of the competitive bidding program (CBP) and what it means for home medical equipment (HME) providers. 

Featured experts for the webcast: 

• Melanie Ewald, vice president of payer relations & reimbursement, VGM & Associates  
• Ronda Buhrmester, senior director of payer relations & reimbursement, VGM & Associates  
• Kelly Grahovac, general manager, The van Halem Group 

“This team has spent countless hours analyzing the final rule to provide you with the most accurate and actionable insights,” VGM & Associates stated. “They’ll walk you through the bidding program process and answer your questions live.” 

Register for the webinar here. 

VGM & Associates provided an initial analysis of the rule here. It also has an online competitive bidding resource page here. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) late Friday afternoon released the 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System Final Rule. 

AAH on final plans for CBP: ‘This is not reform, it’s regression’ 

ARLINGTON, Va. - AAHomecare says a DMEPOS/Home Health Final Rule released late Friday that finalizes plans for the next round of the competitive bidding program (CBP) is a direct threat to patients and home medical equipment (HME) providers. 

“By reviving the competitive bidding program without important guardrails established under the previous Trump Administration and expanding the program to include diabetes equipment, as well as ostomy, urological, and tracheostomy supplies, CMS is setting the stage for more stress on the home medical equipment sector,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO. “Smaller, community-based suppliers will be hit particularly hard, and many patients and family caregivers will lose access to highly experienced and trusted partners who have been providing their care. 

“A new bidding round without a fair bid-setting mechanism is sure to produce rates that force suppliers to use cheaper, lower-quality products and leave patients with fewer choices,” he continued. “The end result will be higher costs to the Medicare program thanks to increased ER visits and hospitalizations, and more strain on caregivers. This is not reform, it’s regression.” 

AAHomecare highlighted as significant changes to CBP in the rule: 

• Calculating the winning bid from the clearing price to 75th percentile of winning bids.  
• Requiring significantly less financial documentation in the bid submission process. 
• Adding CGM and reintroducing insulin pumps to CBP.  
• Adding urological, ostomy and tracheostomy supplies to CBP. 
• Changing the payment category for Class II CGMs and insulin pumps to Frequent and Substantial Servicing (FSS) for CBAs and non-CBAs. 
• Requiring DMEPOS providers to be surveyed and reaccredited at least once every 12 months. 

According to a fact sheet that accompanied the rule, CMS plans the next round of CBP to go live no later than January 2028. 

AAHomecare says it will continue to engage the Trump administration, CMS and members of Congress to delay implementation of the HME-related provisions in the rule and press for a patient-centered, fraud-resistant alternative that protects access, preserves small businesses and strengthens home care. 

“We need every HME stakeholder locked in to support this effort – your voice, your outreach, your advocacy will make a difference,” Ryan said. 

AdvaMed urges CMS to protect patient access following final plans for CBP 

WASHINGTON – AdvaMed has weighed in on CMS’s final plans to include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), as well as ostomy, tracheostomy and urological supplies, in the next round of the competitive bidding program (CBP). 

The group says it is concerned about the potential impact on patient access of the agency’s plans to include supplies as product categories for Remote Item Delivery (RID) product categories. 

“We support efforts to protect the Medicare trust fund and lower out-of-pocket costs for patients, and we support CMS’s ongoing commitment to improving the program’s integrity,” said AdvaMed President and CEO Scott Whitaker. “At the same time, we remain focused on ensuring that patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes – as well as those who rely on ostomy and urological supplies – continue to have access to the latest clinically proven technologies that meet their medical needs.” 

AdvaMed previously outlined its concerns in a comment letter on the proposed rule in August, strongly recommending CMS fix “serious flaws” in the proposal before proceeding. 

The group did say it appreciates CMS’s willingness to consider stakeholder feedback in the final rule, including extending the implementation timeline and expanding the number of contracts awarded – issues it raised directly to the agency. 

“We also welcome CMS’s requirement that suppliers furnish the diabetes devices prescribed by physicians, which is essential to ensuring that patients receive the technologies that best meet their clinical needs, a provision we advocated for in our comments and communications with the agency,” Whitaker said. “We look forward to continuing to work with CMS and the administration to ensure the program evolves in a way that protects access to safe, clinically appropriate supplies for beneficiaries managing complex, chronic conditions.” 

The Compliance Team stands ready to implement new accreditation requirement 

SPRING HOUSE, Pa. - The Compliance Team (TCT) says it is prepared to implement annual accreditation for DMEPOS providers as outlined in the recently released final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Prior to the final rule, reaccreditation was required every three years. TCT says it has had a specifically designed annual, CMS-approved DMEPOS accreditation program for more than 14 years. “Our team at TCT is prepared starting on day one to support our current providers and those transitioning to TCT,” said Sandra Canally, RN, founder and CEO. TCT says its accreditation program features: 

• Easy-to-understand standards; 
• A simplified process; and 
• An in-house support team comprised of industry and accreditation experts 

Established in 1994, TCT says its accreditation program has optimized health care delivery for more than15,000 DMEPOS, pharmacy, infusion, rural health, health department and swing-bed providers.