On April 21, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces plans to recompete the supplier contracts awarded in Round 1 Recompete of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. CMS is required by law to recompete contracts under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program at least once every three years. The Round 1 Recompete contract period for all product categories expires on December 31, 2016.
ROUND 1 2017
The Round 1 2017 product categories are:
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Enteral Nutrients, Equipment and Supplies
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General Home Equipment and Related Supplies and Accessories
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includes hospital beds and related accessories, group 1 and 2 support surfaces, commode chairs, patient lifts, and seat lifts
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Nebulizers and Related Supplies
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Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) Pumps and Related Supplies and Accessories
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Non-invasive Pressure Support Ventilators*
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Respiratory Equipment and Related Supplies and Accessories
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Standard Mobility Equipment and Related Accessories
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Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Devices and Supplies
* This product category is only bid in the following eight CBAs: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC; Chester, Lancaster & York counties, SC; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX; Kansas City-Overland Park-Ottawa, KS; Kansas City, MO; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL; Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA.
A list of the specific items in each product category is available on the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) website.
CMS is conducting Round 1 2017 in the same nine Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) as the Round 1 Recompete. Round 1 2017 competitive bidding areas (CBAs) have nearly the same ZIP codes as the Round 1 Recompete CBAs. However, certain ZIP codes have changed since Round 1 Recompete and CMS has updated the CBAs to reflect the changes. Also, CBAs that were located in multi-state MSAs have been defined so that no CBA is included in more than one state. As a result, the number of CBAs expanded from nine CBAs in Round 1 Recompete to 13 CBAs in the Round 1 2017 competition.
A list of the ZIP codes included in each CBA is also available on the CBIC website.
IMPORTANT DATES
To ensure that suppliers have ample time to prepare for the competition, CMS has announced the following next steps for the program:
April 21, 2015
Summer 2015
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CMS announces bidding schedule
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CMS begins bidder education program
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Bidder registration period to obtain user ID and passwords begins
Fall 2015
If you are a supplier interested in bidding, prepare now – don’t wait.
REVIEW AND UPDATE ENROLLMENT
Suppliers must maintain accurate information on its CMS-855S with the National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) and in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS).
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Contact information (name, Social Security number, and date of birth) for authorized official(s) and correspondence address
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Products and services furnished by the enrolled location(s)
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Each state in which the enrolled location(s) provides items and services
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If you have only one authorized official listed on your enrollment file, consider adding one or more eligible authorized officials to help with registration and bidding. It is important to note that if your file is not current at the time of registration, you may experience delays and/or be unable to register and bid.
GET LICENSED: Contracts are only awarded to suppliers who meet all state licensing requirements by the close of the bid window. Therefore, you must have all required state licenses for the physical location(s) that provides the items in the product category(s). Each physical location on your bid must be licensed for the product category by the state in which it provides items and services. Copies of these licenses should be on file with the NSC and in PECOS.
A licensure guide for each state, the District of Columbia, and the territories is located on the NSC website: www.palmettogba.com/NSC. These guides provide general licensing requirements for each product category included in the Competitive Bidding Program and contact information for each state’s licensing board or agency. These are only guides. Licensing requirements change periodically, and it remains the responsibility of the bidding supplier to identify and obtain all required licenses. For more information about licensing requirements, please consult the appropriate license issuing agency listed on the guides or call the NSC at 866-238-9652.
GET ACCREDITED: In order to submit a bid, each supplier location must be accredited by a CMS approved accrediting organization for the items it provides in a product category. Suppliers who are interested in bidding for a product category and who do not have its location(s) currently accredited for that product category must take action NOW to get accredited for that product category. Accreditation organizations report any accreditation updates to the NSC, so it is important that you get accredited early so your information will be up-to-date. CMS cannot contract with suppliers that are not accredited by a CMS approved accrediting organization.
Further information on the DMEPOS accreditation requirements along with a list of the accrediting organizations and those professionals and other persons exempted from accreditation are available on the CMS website.