The Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program begins July 1, 2008
If You Refer or Order DMEPOS for Medicare Beneficiaries:
Under this new program, beneficiaries who permanently reside in or travel to a designated competitive bidding area (CBA) are required to obtain competitive bid items from a contract supplier, unless an exception applies (e.g., grandfathered suppliers). You (e.g. physicians, practitioners, discharge planners, social workers, pharmacists, and home health agencies) will play a critical role in helping your Medicare patients select appropriate DMEPOS contract suppliers. The Medicare Learning Network's "Tip Sheet for Referral Agents" can help! Downloadable copies are available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/
01_overview.asp#TopOfPage 
. Click on the "Provider Educational Products and Resources" tab on the left then scroll down to the "Downloads" section.
Enteral Nutrition is Not a "Grandfathered" Competitively Bid Item:
Under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, enteral nutrition must be furnished by a contract supplier and cannot be provided by a non-contract grandfathered supplier. To ensure that there is no gap in service, this is important information for providers who order enteral nutrition for Medicare beneficiaries who permanently reside in or are visiting a CBA.
There is NO Application or Registration Required to Become a Grandfathered Supplier:
Suppliers servicing Medicare patients in a CBA need only notify their Medicare clients that they have elected to become a grandfathered supplier and receive a response that the Medicare beneficiary elects to continue services. For more details, see the "DMEPOS Grandfathered Suppliers" tip sheet on the CMS dedicated Website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/
01_overview.asp#TopOfPage . Click on the "Provider Educational Products and Resources" tab on the left then scroll down to the "Downloads" section.
New Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Now Posted on the CMS Website!
Twenty six (26) new FAQs have recently been posted on the CMS DMEPOS Competitive Bidding provider Website. See what's new by going to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/
01_overview.asp#TopOfPage . Click on the "Provider Educational Products and Resources" tab on the left then scroll down to "Related Links Inside CMS."
New MLN Matters article on CMS Claims Processing Manual Revisions
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued Change Request (CR) 6007, Manual Revisions to Reflect Special Billing Instructions for DMEPOS Items as a result of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program and the corresponding MLN Matters article. The article is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles
/downloads/MM6007.pdf 
and will also be available on the "Provider Educational Products and Resources" page of the CMS DMEPOS Competitive Bidding provider Website soon.
Website Addition - Single Payment Amounts:
A new link to DMEPOS Competitive Bidding single payment amounts has been added to the dedicated Website to allow easy access to the files that list the single payment amount for competitively bid items. Go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/
01_overview.asp#TopOfPage and click on the "Single Payment Amounts" tab on the left.
All the information that you need to know as a DMEPOS supplier or an enrolled Medicare provider who refers beneficiaries for DMEPOS is available on the CMS DMEPOS Competitive Bidding dedicated Website located at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/
01_overview.asp#TopOfPage .
Visit the Medicare Learning Network ~ it's free!
Page Last Updated: Wednesday, 06-Aug-2008 09:31:31 CDT
