ORLANDO, Fla.--While the "Closed" sign may be on the bid window for the first round of competitive bidding, it is not a closed issue. With CMS set to add 70 cities in the program's 2009 second round, it is likely that the subject will be at the top of the list for providers attending Medtrade as they work to figure out how to keep their businesses viable.

For information on competitive bidding, its effects and strategies to survive, Medtrade will offer the following sessions:

• What in the World Is Going On? A Medicare Update, Andrea Stark, Medicare consultant, MiraVISTA
• Survival after Competitive Bidding: Operations and Marketing Strategies That Set You Apart, Miriam Lieber, president, Lieber Consulting, and Colette Weil, managing director, Summit Marketing
• Joint Ventures and Competitive Bidding Networks for HMEs, Amy Leopard and Robert Crump, partners, Walter & Haverfield
• Complex Rehab and Assistive Technology Competitive Bidding Update, Cara Bachenheimer, Esq., senior vice president of government relations, Invacare Corp
• The State of the Power Mobility Device Industry, Dan Meuser, president, Pride USA, and Seth Johnson, vice president, government affairs, Pride Mobility Products
• Retail HME Strategies Panel, Moderated by Jack Evans, Global Media Marketing
• Power to Compete, Wallace Weeks, president, Weeks Group
• The Current Status of Legislative Activity, John Gallagher, vice president of government relations, The VGM Group
• Structuring Competitive Bidding Networks and Subcontracts, Neil B. Caesar, JD, president, Health Law Center
• Facing the Industry, Walt Gorski, vice president, American Association for Homecare
• Demand Will Only Increase: Growing Your Business in a Competitive Bidding Environment, Denise M. Fletcher, attorney, Health Care Group, Brown & Fortunato
• Competitive Bidding-What's It All Mean? Are You Prepared?, Cara Bachenheimer, vice president of government relations, Invacare Corp.
• Operations Checklist for the Current Regulatory Environment, Mark J. Higley, vice president of development, VGM Group

Check the conference schedule at www.medtrade.com for session dates and times.