BALTIMORE--Late Tuesday, CMS announced that suppliers
participating in the first round of Medicare's competitive bidding
program must be accredited by Aug. 31, 2007, in order to be
selected as a contract winner. The agency had previously stipulated
that in order to submit a bid, suppliers must be accredited or
pending accreditation. According to a CMS timeline, bidding will
open late this month with a bid window of 60 days. The announcement
from CMS follows in its entirety: In order to participate in the
Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, suppliers must meet
quality standards and be accredited by a CMS-approved Deemed
Accreditation Organization. Suppliers that are interested in
bidding under the new program must be aware of two key deadlines:
-- Suppliers must be accredited or be pending accreditation to
submit a bid. CMS cannot accept a bid from any supplier that is not
accredited or that has not applied for accreditation.
-- Suppliers will need to be accredited to be awarded a contract.
The accreditation deadline for the first round of competitive
bidding is August 31, 2007. Suppliers must be accredited before
this date to be awarded a contract. Suppliers should apply for
accreditation immediately to allow adequate time to process their
applications. Bidding is expected to open in late April 2007. For a
list of the CMS-approved Deemed Accreditation Organizations and
information about the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding program,
visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS/
<http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549980-0-0-0-1>
To view a Special Edition MLN Matters article on this topic, visit
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0713.pdf
<http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549981-0-0-0-1>
For a list of the 10 MSAs where the bidding program is set to roll
out, and for additional information on competitive bidding, see
http://www.dmecompetitivebid.com <http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549982-0-0-0-1>
Check future issues of HomeCare Monday for continuing
coverage, or visit www.homecaremag.com <http://ct.pbinews.com/rd/cts?d=244-10912-128-28595-51908-549983-0-0-0-1>
for more information.
