BALTIMORE--Home medical equipment providers in the 10 competitive bidding areas got an 11th hour reprieve late Thursday when CMS extended its bid submission deadline by one week. All bids for the first round of competitive bidding are now due by 9 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time on July 27.

This is the second extension in as many weeks; the original bid deadline was July 13, but CMS extended that deadline to July 20.

And in a late-breaking development, the agency has agreed to discuss issues related to the first round of bidding with the American Association for Homecare and other provider associations on a call set for Wednesday, July 25 (see "CMS Asks for Details about Competitive Bidding Problems" in this issue).

According to Walt Gorski, AAHomecare vice president, government affairs, "there continue to be problems" with the online bidding system. "I think CMS recognized and heard that from the supplier community and had no other option but to extend the bidding window," he said.

Suppliers on a Wednesday Open Door conference call complained of being shut out of the electronic bidding system, and some said they were still struggling to enter bids.

Joel Kaiser, deputy director of DMEPOS policy for CMS, told callers he was unaware of any major system problems. CMS was working on each trouble call, he said.

But Gorski said AAHomecare has heard from numerous suppliers about problems with the bidding system. As late as Thursday, "providers were encountering significant challenges," he said.

"Obviously, of great concern to us ... is that we need assurances that when we are at the same point [this] week, everything is working properly. We should not be a beta test for this system," he said. "The system should be reliable so that any supplier who makes a good-faith effort to submit a bid and comply with the rules has fair consideration for a contract. It is unacceptable if suppliers are closed out because of no fault of their own."

Another concern has been changes in bidding guidelines. As late as Wednesday, answers to questions about bidding forms and other instructions were still being posted on the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor Web site. On July 13, an alternate method for submitting product manufacturer, model and model numbers required for bidding was posted to the site.

"We are very concerned with the educational and technical information that is coming out now. As this information comes out at the last minute and departs from previous guidance, how should a supplier react if they have already submitted a bid?" asked Gorski. "A supplier should not be rejected based on data submission that was based on the best guidance at that time."

As well, some providers had not yet received their user IDs and passwords--necessary to submit a bid--even though they had met the bid registration deadline. In Thursday's bid extension notice, CMS said it is "continuing to process complete and accurate requests for user IDs and passwords for suppliers that applied for registration by the July 7, 2007, deadline."

Extension of the bidding window came as a surprise to most stakeholders, particularly since Kaiser stated during Wednesday's conference call that there would not be one.

On that call, Gorski inquired when CMS would respond to letters from Congress calling for a slowdown in the implementation of competitive bidding until quality and patient access issues were resolved. The letters, one each from the House and the Senate, were delivered to CMS last week and signed by 65 representatives and 14 senators, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. (See HomeCareMonday, July 16.)

Kaiser said he had not yet seen the letters.

"I'll e-mail [them] to you," Gorski said.

"We will be interested to hear how CMS plans to respond," Gorski said. "Clearly, the letters show that this issue is resonating in Congress and that lawmakers and their staffs are watching closely."

To view the bid deadline extension notice, and for information on the option for submitting manufacturer make and model data, click here.

The CBIC has also posted a notice that its help desk will be available from 6 a.m. until midnight EST weekdays, and that it will operate 24 hours a day the last day before bidding closes at (877) 577-5331.

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