The American Association for Homecare is proud to work with Congressmen Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and John Larson (D-Conn.) as they build support for H.R. 4920, the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014. This bill will help fix the Medicare bidding program by making sure that bidders honor their bids and provide proof of licensure before bidding.

“The American Association for Homecare is proud to work with Congressmen Tiberi and Larson as they build support for the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014,” said Tom Ryan, AAHomecare CEO. “AAHomecare is putting the full weight of the industry behind this practical piece of legislation. All HME providers and manufacturers should immediately visit the AAHomecare Action Center to ask their elected officials to support H.R. 4920.”

This legislation will make all bids binding and require proof of licensure for the next rounds of bidding. It addresses a major flaw in the program and deters speculative bidding without generating a cost. There are three main provisions in the bill:

Providers will need to prove licensure before they submit bids.
When a provider wins a contract, the bid bond transfers to the performance bond that is already required.
If a provider is offered a contract and declines to sign it, CMS has the option to collect the bond.

“When bids don’t have to be honored, the whole process becomes hollow,” said Robert Steedley, president of Barnes Healthcare Services, Inc., and chairman of the AAHomecare Board of Directors. “Requiring binding bids will help bring common sense to the Medicare bidding program. AAHomecare has taken a leadership role on building support for this legislation and I expect a full court press until it is passed.”

“The bill would strongly incentivize more responsible bids because bidders would be required to obtain a bid bond which they would forfeit if they chose not to accept the contract – if the bidder is offered a contract and their bid was at or below the bid price,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of Invacare. “It’s standard procedure in any other bid program.”

Click here to tell your elected official to support the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014.

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