EXETER, PA – Late last week Reps Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and John Larsen (D-Conn) introduced HR 4920, the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014. This long anticipated bipartisan legislation would remove one of the most egregious provisions in the Medicare bidding program so future bids under the program are binding, and also require that licensure is verified at the time of bidding.
While the legislation does not include all the modifications to the bidding program that the industry has been advocating for, it does provide significant reform that would improve the program in future rounds of bidding.
The development of this legislation was months in the making and based on intelligence from industry champions on Capitol Hill who want to get some relief to providers this year, prior to the bid window opening for the round two recompete.
The legislation has three primary provisions:
• require CMS to verify licensure at time of bidding;
• require all bidders to secure a $50,000 bid bond for each product category and CBA which converts to a performance guarantee if offered a contract at or above their composite bid amount; and
• if a contract winner fails to perform under the contract, both the bid bond and the providers surety bond would be triggered, resulting in a loss of their Medicare supplier number.
CALL TO ACTION: Congress will be in session this week and back in their districts the following week for the July 4th holiday. It is important that all industry stakeholders—providers, consumers, clinicians and manufacturers—contact their Reps office to request they cosponsor this bipartisan legislation. The number for the Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
Call your Representative today to request they cosponsor HR 4920, the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014.
Seth Johnson is vice president of Government Affairs for the Pride Mobility Products Corp, Exeter, Pa.