Two weeks ago Jeff Ross from Kettig Medical in Taylorsville, Kentucky did not think that he was in Round 2 of Medicare's bidding program, until he received a fax solicitation from a bid consultant that made him double check.

"I knew that Louisville was in Round 2, but I made several assumptions based on our area and the opinions from local Manufacturer's Reps", said Jeff Ross, who contacted AMEPA to express his own frustrations with the bidding program.

"First of all the name of the Bidding Area is Louisville-Jefferson County. Louisville is located in Jefferson County, so I believed that the bidding area was limited to Jefferson County. I checked the Medicare website several times over the Fall months for maps defining the area, but they did not exist. I finally saw a map of the 12 counties of the bidding area last week when I checked their website again."

"At that point I was shocked because I am the only DME provider in Spencer County, and Spencer County is listed as a Health Professional Shortage Area."

Kettig Medical did register for the program and is going through the bid process now, but Ross has serious concerns about how his small company, in a rural county can cover an area that stretches into Indiana.

"We started this company in 2010 and invested a lot of money in the business and getting accredited, because there is a need for a DME supplier in this area. But even if we win a bid contract, I don't see how we can survive taking additional cuts in revenue and the additional expenses of vehicles, staff and facilities to cover this entire area."

Ross was also angered by the fact that he was never notified by Medicare about the program.

"I know that there has been a lot of news about the bidding program", explained Ross, "but they could have at least sent a letter explaining that we were in an area affected by the bidding program. I just hope other providers in rural areas, decide to check the bidding website before the deadline."

Kettig Medical may not be alone as other areas like the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta bidding area contains 24 counties and most of those counties are considered to be "rural".

Two weeks ago Jeff Ross from Kettig Medical in Taylorsville, Kentucky did not think that he was in Round 2 of Medicare's bidding program, until he received a fax solicitation from a bid consultant that made him double check.

"I knew that Louisville was in Round 2, but I made several assumptions based on our area and the opinions from local Manufacturer's Reps", said Jeff Ross, who contacted AMEPA to express his own frustrations with the bidding program.

"First of all the name of the Bidding Area is Louisville-Jefferson County. Louisville is located in Jefferson County, so I believed that the bidding area was limited to Jefferson County. I checked the Medicare website several times over the Fall months for maps defining the area, but they did not exist. I finally saw a map of the 12 counties of the bidding area last week when I checked their website again."

"At that point I was shocked because I am the only DME provider in Spencer County, and Spencer County is listed as a Health Professional Shortage Area."

Kettig Medical did register for the program and is going through the bid process now, but Ross has serious concerns about how his small company, in a rural county can cover an area that stretches into Indiana.

"We started this company in 2010 and invested a lot of money in the business and getting accredited, because there is a need for a DME supplier in this area. But even if we win a bid contract, I don't see how we can survive taking additional cuts in revenue and the additional expenses of vehicles, staff and facilities to cover this entire area."

Ross was also angered by the fact that he was never notified by Medicare about the program.

"I know that there has been a lot of news about the bidding program", explained Ross, "but they could have at least sent a letter explaining that we were in an area affected by the bidding program. I just hope other providers in rural areas, decide to check the bidding website before the deadline."

Kettig Medical may not be alone as other areas like the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta bidding area contains 24 counties and most of those counties are considered to be "rural".