ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Hearing on Medicare’s Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark (D-CA) announced today that the Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program.  The hearing will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in the main committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND  

Currently, Medicare payment rates for most types of medical equipment and supplies are based on fee schedules.  The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) required that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) use a competitive bidding process to contract with suppliers and other providers for certain types of equipment and supplies.  The Competitive Bidding Program will be phased in over time, starting with 10 of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in 2008 and expanded into another 70 MSAs --- including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles --- in 2009.  MMA gives CMS the authority to expand the program beyond those 80 areas starting in 2010 and allows the agency to adjust DMEPOS payment rates in areas of the country that do not fall under the Competitive Bidding Program.

In early May, CMS announced preliminary results of the first round of the bidding program.  Based on contract offers, payment rates will be reduced by an average of 26 percent in the ten areas covered by round one.  However, concerns have been raised that some suppliers were improperly excluded from the bidding process and beneficiary access to certain types of equipment could be reduced in areas affected by the program.

In announcing the hearing Chairman Stark said, “We have heard from both suppliers and beneficiary advocates that the DMEPOS competitive bidding program is not working as well as it is supposed to.  I look forward to hearing their concerns, as well as from CMS, as we consider whether changes need to be made before the program is further expanded.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The hearing will focus on implementation of the administration of Medicare’s DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note:  Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms.  From the Committee homepage, http://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “110th Congress” from the menu entitled, “Committee Hearings” (http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Hearings.asp?congress=18).  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Follow the online instructions, completing all informational forms and clicking “submit”. Attach your submission as a Word or WordPerfect document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by close of business Tuesday, May 20, 2008.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee. The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1.   All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word or WordPerfect format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments.  Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2.  Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing.  Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3.  All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons, and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers of each witness.

Note:  All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.

***