WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 15, 2015)—The U.S. Small Business Administration will sponsor two Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Roundtable discussions during July. The first discussion will be July 21 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center, 2310 University Way, Building 2, Bozeman, Montana. The second hearing will be July 23 at the University of Great Falls—Absolon Lounge, 1301 20th St. South, Great Falls, Montana.
The discussions provide an opportunity for small businesses to voice concerns about regulatory compliance issues and government policies and programs that business owners are facing. The SBA’s National Ombudsman for Small Business, Brian Castro, will attend.
“The audit and appeal process of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has had crippling effects on DMEPOS suppliers across the United States,” said John Gallagher, vice president of government relations for VGM Group Inc. “These providers are experiencing frivolous audits by contractors hired by CMS to analyze claims. The current number of backlogged audits is more than 870,000, meaning providers could be forced to wait several years to receive payment on a piece of equipment that has already been provided to a Medicare beneficiary. With crucial cash flow of these small businesses being held up in the audit process, owners have the challenge of keeping employees on the payroll and providing patients with equipment upgrades,” said Gallagher.
To add to the suppliers’ burdens, CMS has announced that the Competitive Bidding Program will expand to include all areas of the country in 2016. Reimbursement rates will be significantly reduced. If these suppliers choose to accept Medicare assignments, they will have to accept reimbursement rates of up to 50 percent less than the current fee schedule over a period of six months beginning Jan. 1, 2016. Already seeing the effects in Montana is Alesha Rate, vice president of Big Sky AMES. “The Competitive Bid program is anything but competitive and it is decimating the most affordable forms of health care we have.”
Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies providers in the area are encouraged to attend the discussion to speak about the challenges of audits and the current plan to implement competitive bid area prices in rural areas. The sole purpose of this hearing is to give small business owners an open forum to comment on unfair enforcement actions, government audits, and excessive fines or regulations.
For more information, visit sba.gov.
