The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 requires that competitive bid payment amounts be used to replace the current Medicare DMEPOS fee schedule payment amounts for selected items in selected areas. The competitive bid payment amounts are determined by using bids submitted by DMEPOS suppliers. The intent of the competitive bidding program is to set more appropriate payment amounts for DMEPOS items, which will result in reduced beneficiary out-of-pocket expenses and savings to taxpayers and the Medicare program, according to CMS.
The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 required CMS to rebid the contracts awarded in the first round of the program. All bids must be submitted in DBidS, the online bidding system, by 9:00 p.m. EST on Dec. 21, 2009.
Read the AHANews’ report on the DME rebid.
