BALTIMORE--Callers to CMS' special Open Door Forum on national competitive bidding had plenty of questions. But due to technical difficulties, CMS' answers were difficult, if not impossible, to hear.

A total of 610 callers dialed into the May 23 forum, held following the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee's two-day meeting on competitive bidding (see related story above). But because of the poor sound quality, many callers requested that CMS hold a repeat Open Door Forum or offer a transcript.

"We're just not getting anything out of it," said one phone participant, who called the audio reception "awful."

In response to the requests, CMS offered a summary fact sheet that was posted to its Web site May 24. But during the forum, one caller said that wouldn't be enough since he wasn't being given the opportunity to contribute.

The forum was held to allow industry stakeholders to comment on the 203-page draft competitive bidding rule, published May 1 in the Federal Register, but many of the forum callers simply wanted to know if the competitive bidding program would affect them.

Chris Kingston of Diabetes Supply Center of the Midlands, Omaha, Neb., asked if the company would have to get involved in competitive bidding since it was a niche business that only provided diabetes supplies. In response to that and similar questions, CMS officials clarified that if a provider plans to furnish supplies subject to competitive bidding to beneficiaries who live in an area where the program is offered, then yes.

And one Oklahoma City caller was alarmed by CMS' estimate that competitive bidding would cause about half of the providers in the industry to go out of business. "Is that a misprint, or do you really believe that?" he asked.

CMS said its estimates were based on its competitive bidding demonstrations in San Antonio, Texas, and Polk County, Fla.