05/11/12 - Continue to reach out to Health Subcommittee members.

Rob Brant — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:30:50 +0100

Remember, congressional districts of every member of the Health Subcommittee are directly impacted by the bidding program. Thirteen of the fourteen congressmen are in Round 2 and Sam Johnson from Texas resides in the Dallas CBA in Round One. With the "Recompete" on the horizon, every provider in Johnson's district should get involved to speak up for MPP.

Reach out to their Health Legislative Assistant and let them know what you thought of the hearing.

You can also sRead More...

05/11/12 - Review the Ways & Means Hearing video anytime

Rob Brant — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:28:25 +0100

On Wednesday, May 9th, the House Ways and Means, Health Subcommittee held a hearing on Medicare's bidding program in DMEPOS.

You can click the link on the bottom of this page which will take you directly to the video.

The video is two hours and 30 minutes long, but you can use the guide below to skip to different portions of the hearing. A general summary is below some of the listings.

1:15 Chairman Wally Herger (R-CA) - Read More...

05/09/12 - Listen to the Ways & Means Hearing Live

Rob Brant — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:05:46 +0100

Click on this link to watch live video of the Hearing

Chairman Herger Announces Hearing on the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program

1100 Longworth House Office Building at 9:00 AM

May 09, 2012

Focus Of The Hearing:
The hearing will focus on the impact of the DMEPOS competitive bidding program on beneficiaries, suppliers, and Medicare expenditures and the implications for programRead More...

05/04/12 - Louisiana bidders fear disqualification over recent licensure change

Rob Brant — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:46:26 +0100

Last Friday, a New Orleans based DME owner decided to check the NSC website one last time, just to make sure that there was not any change to the Louisiana DME licensure requirements. To his surprise the NSC's DMEPOS State Licensure Directory now states that a "Louisiana Controlled Dangerous Substances License", issued by the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy is now required for Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, Enteral Pumps & Supplies, and CPAPs & Respiratory Assist Devices.

04/20/12 - Sun-Sentinel adds input from HME sector on story about bidding program's success

Rob Brant — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:58:02 +0100

Yesterday, the South Florida Sun Sentinel published a story titled "Medicare: Seniors save one-third on medical supplies"

Below is an excerpt from the article

"Beneficiaries have not experienced any disruption in supplies that are needed," Blum says. "They have not seen any health care consequences. And there have been absolute price savings."

But leaders of the medical equipment industry, which has been fighting the new bidding system for five years, called the rRead More...

04/20/12 - Six major concerns with Round One "ReCompete"

Rob Brant — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:55:41 +0100

Commentary by Rob Brant

One contracted provider in Round One sent me this little anecdote about the ReCompete:

"It's as if the designers of the bidding program sat down in a room and said, 'We did a great job reducing providers in Round One areas, but we really need to reduce more.So let's incorporate every possible HCPCS code that companies provide. Then we'll combine categories that require different licensure like oxygen and CPAP, so the niche companies will disappear. ThenRead More...

04/19/12 - For many, National Mail Order Bid to be decided today in Nevada

Rob Brant — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:57:51 +0100

For 87 potential bidders in the National Mail order program, the bid process is not over.

Today, the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy will decide the fate of 87 companies who applied for an Out-of-State Pharmacy or Out-of-State Medical Device Equipment & Gases (MDEG) licenses at their monthly public hearing in Las Vegas.

Nevada is one of the states that requires licensure for Mail Order Diabetic Testing Supplies. In October 2011, Diabetic providers were just Read More...

04/11/12 - AMEPA Webinar to review unforeseen Round 2 issues and an update on the Market ...

Rob Brant — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:05:18 +0100

Friday, April 13th, 1:00pm ET (12 CT, 11 MT, 10 PT)

Now that providers who bid in Round 2 have a better understanding about the process and pitfalls of the program, AMEPA will be holding a Webinar to re-examine the Market Pricing Program and potential unforeseen issues of Round 2.

What state issues will the CBIC likely ignore while calculating Round 2 single payment rates and contracted suppliers?

Will the Round 2 Bona Fide Bid provision exclude low ball bids, or bids Read More...

04/11/12 - AMEPA prepares for Year 5

Rob Brant — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:03:49 +0100

Yesterday, the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America celebrated our Fourth anniversary.

On April 10th 2008, Round One bid winners and losers from Miami, Orlando and San Juan met at the Sheraton - Fort Lauderdale Airport to establish an association with one goal in mind: Repeal the flawed DMEPOS Bidding Program. Our Board included providers from Dallas, Miami, Orlando and San Juan and our founding membership included providers from each of the first 10 MSAs and beyond.Read More...

04/05/12 - Woman Dies After a Cigarette Ignites Her Oxygen Tank

Rob Brant — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:42:00 +0100

Shannon Murray
CBS 7 Reporter

smurray@cbs7.com

April 3, 2012

Odessa, TX - An elderly woman dies after her oxygen tank explodes, causing a fire in her Odessa home.

It happened around 12:30 AM in the 1800 block of Doran. Crews say the fire started after a cigarette caused 72-year-old Alice Richardson's oxygen tank to explode.

Driving by the Odessa home, everything appears normal. But in the backyard there isRead More...

04/05/12 - AMEPA Webinar to review unforeseen Round 2 issues and an update on the Market ...

Rob Brant — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:39:57 +0100

Friday, April 13th, 1:00pm ET (12 CT, 11 MT, 10 PT)

What state issues will the CBIC likely ignore while calculating Round 2 single payment rates and contracted suppliers?

Will the Round 2 Bona Fide Bid provision exclude low ball bids, or bids Read More...

03/29/12 - How do the Rd 2 Bona Fide Bid rules impact Rd 1 Single Payment Rates?

Rob Brant — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:40:19 +0100

Commentary by Rob Brant

The Bona Fide Bid rule was added to the Round One rebid as an idea to deter ridiculously low bids. The Bona Fide Bid fact sheet dated September 2009 states that "If a supplier submits a non-bona fide bid for a single item in a product category, the supplier is eliminated from competition for the entire product category."

The Round One Rebid and Round 2 Bona Fide Bid Fact Sheets have three rules identically listed:

SubmittingRead More...

03/27/12 - Washington Post article about Bidding Program: Some DME facts but mostly Medicare bias

Rob Brant — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:34:33 +0100

On March 24, 2012, the Washington Post ran a story about the DME Bidding prorgam. The article had some fact and opinion from the DME industry:

The industry - made up of an estimated 18,000 mostly small businesses across the country - is bracing for a sharp contraction in the number of local suppliers. One retailer in south Florida estimated that half of the 400 durable medical equipment suppliers in the region had gone out of business in the past two years. "I couldn't make it as a biRead More...

03/27/12 - Last FAQ for Round 2 Bidding

Rob Brant — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:32:14 +0100

With only a few days left before the close of the Round 2 bidding, we are addressing a few Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: On Form B, I am confused by the 'Percentage Increase' in Medicare business under the Top HCPCS codes. Is there a correlation between that increase and my estimated capacity? Do I have to apply that percentage increase to every HCPCS code in the category to figure my estimated capacity?

Answer by Rob Brant: The rule states: "You should indicRead More...

03/16/12 - Estate of deceased oxygen patient sues DME provider

Rob Brant — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:45:59 +0100

100-year-old woman sustained frostbite after oxygen tank sprang a leak, suit says

The Madison St. Clair Record

3/14/2012 8:23 PM By Kelly Holleran,

A 100-year-old woman sustained frostbite to various parts of her face after the oxygen tank she was utilizing sprang a leak and froze inside her nostrils, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Michael P. Magers as executor of the estate of Rachel F. Magers filed a lawsuit Feb. 28 in St.Read More...

03/16/12 - Congressman pushes for CBO score on MPP

Rob Brant — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:42:22 +0100

Last week a group of 17 concerned DME owners met with Congressman Steve Cohen in his Memphis District office to put a face on the Competitive Bidding Program and to talk about the Market Pricing Program alternative.

After the meeting Congressman Cohen sent a letter to leaders of the Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees, asking for the committees to consider the MPP and push for a score form the Congressional Budget Office.

A few weeksRead More...

03/09/12 - Bill would take Social Security number from Medicare card

Rob Brant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:03:02 +0100

By Donna Gehrke-White and Diane Lade, Sun Sentinel

9:50 AM EST, March 7, 2012

A bill before Congress would remove Social Security numbers from Medicare cards - a change many seniors have been seeking to help fight identity theft.

Medicare clients are in a potentially dangerous situation. If South Florida's more than 872,000 Medicare recipients carry their Medicare cards, they are disregarding recommendations to avoid keeping Social Security numbers in wallets or pursesRead More...

03/09/12 - Lifegas launches website to help with Oxygen Bids and Subcontracting

Rob Brant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:01:22 +0100

AMEPA sponsor Lifegas has created a new website to provide subcontracting solutions, ranging from standard oxygen concentrators to Liquid Oxygen, Battery Operated Concentrators and Home Tank Filling systems.They also have a section to answer questions about the Makes and Model numbers required to complete bids in the oxygen category. AMEPA thanks Lifegas for their ongoing support and invite you to visit www.winwithlifegas.com

03/09/12 - Documentation status and CDRD Eligibility now available on DBIDs

Rob Brant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:59:28 +0100

For those who are unsure if the CBIC received your hardcopy financial documents or if they were received in time to be eligible for the Covered Document Review Date, that information is now available on the DBIDs System.

This information was not available during the Round One Rebid. Information for Documentation Status is listed on the bottom of the status page, below Form A and Form B. If your hardcopy documents were received by the CBIC you should receive the following update:

03/09/12 - Have you sent an email to friends and family to sign on the Petition?

Rob Brant — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:58:07 +0100

The industry's online petition to Stop Medicare's Bidding Program now has over 10,000 signatures.

Now is the time to involve those you know outside of the industry by simply copying the text below and forwarding it in an email to friends and family.

Please help the patients that I serve by taking 30 seconds to sign a petition to Stop Medicare's Flawed Bidding Program athttp://www.change.org/petitions/stop-competitive-bRead More...

Blog entries

05/11/12 - Continue to reach out to Health Subcommittee members.

05/11/12 - Review the Ways & Means Hearing video anytime

05/09/12 - Listen to the Ways & Means Hearing Live

05/04/12 - Louisiana bidders fear disqualification over recent licensure change

04/20/12 - Sun-Sentinel adds input from HME sector on story about bidding program's success

04/20/12 - Six major concerns with Round One "ReCompete"

04/19/12 - For many, National Mail Order Bid to be decided today in Nevada

04/11/12 - AMEPA Webinar to review unforeseen Round 2 issues and an update on the Market ...

04/11/12 - AMEPA prepares for Year 5

04/05/12 - Woman Dies After a Cigarette Ignites Her Oxygen Tank

04/05/12 - AMEPA Webinar to review unforeseen Round 2 issues and an update on the Market ...

03/29/12 - How do the Rd 2 Bona Fide Bid rules impact Rd 1 Single Payment Rates?

03/27/12 - Washington Post article about Bidding Program: Some DME facts but mostly Medicare bias

03/27/12 - Last FAQ for Round 2 Bidding

03/16/12 - Estate of deceased oxygen patient sues DME provider

03/16/12 - Congressman pushes for CBO score on MPP

03/09/12 - Bill would take Social Security number from Medicare card

03/09/12 - Lifegas launches website to help with Oxygen Bids and Subcontracting

03/09/12 - Documentation status and CDRD Eligibility now available on DBIDs

03/09/12 - Have you sent an email to friends and family to sign on the Petition?