WASHINGTON--Last month, a request for comments on the latest competitive bidding forms was published in the Federal Register, including request for bids information collection.

Instructions include the following basic bidding rules:

--CMS will not allow more than one bid per item in a product category from a supplier.

--Suppliers that share common ownership, as will be defined in the Medicare DMEPOS competitive bidding final rule, can only submit one bid.

--Network member suppliers will not be allowed to bid separately from their network for the same product category in the same competitive bidding area. Network members can only join one network per product category per CBA.

--Network members and suppliers with multiple locations who share common ownership must bid on the same product categories within the CBA.

--Bids must include the cost of furnishing the item throughout the geographic area that makes up the CBA, except for entities that are eligible for limited participation in the competitive bidding program, as defined in the final rule.

--Furnishing the item includes the cost of providing the item and any requisite services directly associated with the item, such as proper beneficiary and caregiver training and follow-up, manufacturer's shipping charges, maintaining rented equipment in proper order, education, delivery, set-up and retrieval.

--The bidding form will identify if a product will be paid on either a rental or purchase basis and whether the bid should represent a purchase or rental amount.

--The RFB form requires suppliers to identify the item for which they are bidding by manufacturer, model name and number. We recognize that suppliers may change models in later periods of the bidding cycle.

The forms and instructions can be viewed at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAL/list.asp#TopOfPage. Scroll down the list to form CMS-10169.

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