New Educational Products and Upcoming National Provider Call

• New Tip Sheet
• New MLN Matters article
• June 12, 2008 Call

New DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program Tip Sheet for Physicians and other Treating Practitioners Who Are Enrolled Medicare DMEPOS Suppliers

CMS has posted a new tip sheet for physicians and other treating practitioners who are enrolled Medicare DMEPOS suppliers that describes how the new DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program that begins July 1, 2008 affects this particular group of providers. The tip sheet outlines the instance of when an exception under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program where physicians and other treating practitioners who are enrolled Medicare DMEPOS suppliers can provide certain types of competitively bid items in a CBA to their own patients without being selected as a contract supplier.  The tip sheet can be found on the CMS dedicated website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid. Just click on the Provider Educational Products and Resources tab and scroll down to the "Downloads" section.

New MLN Matters Article on CMS Medicare Manual Section Covering the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program

On May 9, CMS issued CR 5978 "Phase 1 of Manual Revisions to Reflect Payment Changes for DMEPOS Items as a Result of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program and the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005".  The companion MLN MM5978 article is now available. 

CR 5978 is the first of several installments in adding a new chapter (Chapter 36) to the existing Claims Processing Manual in an effort to manualize policies and instructions for Medicare Contractors on the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program. MLN Matters (MM) 5978 is designed to help Medicare providers gain a broad understanding of all aspects of the new program, including when non-contract suppliers should obtain a signed Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN) which indicates that the beneficiary was informed in writing prior to receiving the item that there would be no Medicare coverage due to the supplier's contract status, and that the beneficiary understands that he/she will be liable for all costs that the non-contract supplier may charge the beneficiary for the item. This manual section, in conjunction with the provider tip sheets upcoming and already released can help providers gain a quick and thorough understanding of the program.

MM5978 can be found at, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM5978.pdf. It will also be available on the CMS dedicated website at, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid.  Just click on the Provider Educational Products and Resources tab and scroll down to the "Downloads" section. All 2008 MLN Matters on the DME Competitive Bidding Program are maintained here.

CMS To Host National Provider Call for Referral Agents and Non-contract Suppliers for the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program

CMS will host a national audio call to address additional questions on the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program being implemented on July 1, 2008. The call will be held on June 12 from 1:00 " 2:30 PM EDT. This call will not address contract supplier issues, but will instead focus on questions from non-contract suppliers and referral agents (Medicare providers who order or refer DMEPOS in the 10 CBAs).

Please note -- Participants will be able to submit questions through the online registration system at the time of sign up for the call.  Registration details follow:  

Conference call details:

Date:                            June 12, 2008

Conference Title:            Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program Q and A Session

Time:                            1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT

In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data.  This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation.  If you cannot attend the call, replay information is available below.

Registration will close at 1:00 p.m. EDT on June 11, 2008, or when available space has been filled.  No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time.

    1.   To register for the call participants need to go to: http://www2.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/061208

    2.   Fill in all required data. 

    3.   Verify your time zone is displayed correctly the drop down box.

    4.   Click "Register".

    5.   You will be taken to the "Thank you for registering" page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter.   Note: Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation   emails.  If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there.

For those of you who will be unable to attend, a replay option will be available shortly following the end of the call.  This replay will be accessible from 3:00 p.m. EDT 6/12/2008 until 11:59 p.m. EDT 6/17/2008.  The call in data for the replay is (800) 642-1687 and the passcode is 49895703.