CMS Announces DMEPOS Prices for Round 1 of Competitve Bidding

From: Worrall, Chris M. (CMS/OA)
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 5:05 PM
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Medicare Information for Pharmacists

CMS Announces DMEPOS Prices for Round 1 of Competitive Bidding…

CMS announced today the new prices that Medicare will pay for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) in the first ten communities participating in the DME Competitive Bidding program beginning on July 1.  Medicare beneficiaries living in Charlotte , Cincinnati , Cleveland , Dallas , Kansas City, Miami , Orlando , Pittsburg , Riverside and San Juan will continue to have access to high quality DMEPOS items at substantially lower prices than they are currently paying. 

As a result of the competitive bidding process, the amounts that Medicare will pay for the 10 product categories included in Round 1 of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program overall average 26% less than Medicare’s current fee schedule amounts.  CMS is in the process of notifying all suppliers who bid of their results.  Suppliers whose bids were in the winning range will be mailed contracts requiring their signatures.  Once those suppliers return their signed contracts, CMS will publicly announce the list of contracted suppliers.  Please see the Medicare Fact Sheet and Press Release for a timeline of Round 1 events, specific information about savings in each product category and more.

Please also visit our DMEPOS Accreditation website for more information about accreditation timelines associated with Round 2 of the competitive bidding program.

Chris Worrall
Special Assistant
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Office of the Administrator
200 Independence Ave. SW
Washington , D.C. 20201
[e-mail]