Just 'a bad idea'
"It's a train wreck," Roho's McCausland summed up after the meeting, adding that competitive bidding will "absolutely" harm both beneficiaries and providers. "Unfortunately, this is so obvious to anyone in the industry. If you know a cataclysmic event is about to occur, you need to do everything possible to stop it, but we [have been] helpless to do so," he said.

The purpose of competitive bidding "has shifted from purely saving costs to eliminating suppliers," ADMEA's Hamilton said. He pointed out that many of the nation's small suppliers are providing service where no one else will.

Large national suppliers, he said, which are likely to dominate competitive bidding, "will be the same as HMOs, where you have to wait three or four days for a hospital bed." He noted that Part A (hospital) costs could be raised by poorer DME service.

A comment from John Shirvinsky, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers, seemed to represent the industry's most widely held view of competitive bidding. Perhaps fittingly the last speaker of the day, Shrivinsky told CMS officials that "competitive bidding is a bad idea and ridiculous process."

To comment on CMS' bidding system, e-mail dbids@cms.hhs.gov by Nov. 9.

To comment on competitive bidding overall, e-mail Ralph.Goldberg@cms.hhs.gov.