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OIG to review competitive bidding program

OIG to review competitive bidding program

WASHINGTON - The Office of Inspector General has released its work plan for 2017, including post-award audits to assess CMS's competitive bidding program.

The OIG will review the process CMS used to conduct competitive bidding and to make subsequent pricing determinations for certain medical equipment items and services in selected bid areas under Rounds 1 and 2 of the program. It will also determine the effects of the competitive bidding on Medicare beneficiaries' access to certain types of DMEPOS subject to the program.

Other DME-related items in the OIG's work plan for 2017:

Diabetes

The OIG is required to report the market share of diabetic testing strips before each subsequent round of the competitive bidding program to help CMS determine how the National Mail Order Re-compete may impact shifts in the market.

The first of three data briefs will determine the market share of diabetic testing strips for the three-month period immediately preceding the implementation of the National Mail Order Re-compete on July 1, 2016 (April through June 2016).

The second report will be for the three-month period immediately after implementation (July through September 2016) and the third report will be for a similar time frame six months after implementation (October through December 2016).

CPAP devices

Prior OIG work found that suppliers automatically shipped PAP device supplies when no physician orders for refills were in effect. The OIG will review claims for frequently replaced PAP device supplies to determine whether documentation requirements for medical necessity, frequency of replacement, and other Medicare requirements are met.

PMDs

The OIG will determine whether potential savings can be achieved by Medicare if certain PMDs are rented over a 13-month period (the period of consecutive months of rental at which the Medicare payment is capped) rather than acquired through a lump-sum purchase.

Orthotic braces

We will determine the reasonableness of Medicare fee schedule amounts for orthotic braces. We will compare Medicare payments made for orthotic braces to amounts paid by non-Medicare payers, such as private insurance companies, to identify potentially wasteful spending. We will estimate the financial impact on Medicare and on beneficiaries of aligning the fee schedule for orthotic braces with those of non-Medicare payers.

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