USA Today Editorial, Opinion Piece Address Provision in Medicare Bill To Delay DME Competitive Bidding Program
USA Today on Thursday published an editorial and an opinion piece that addressed a provision included in a Medicare bill (HR 6331) passed by the House that would delay for 18 months a competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment. Under the program, which is scheduled to begin July 1, CMS will select DME suppliers to participate in Medicare based on bids they submit. The 2003 Medicare law mandated the program as part of a larger effort to implement competitive bidding. In 2008, the program will operate in 10 of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas and will apply to 10 of the top DME, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies product categories. In 2009, the program will expand to an additional 70 MSAs and will continue to expand in future years. The program also will apply to additional product categories in future years. The program likely will result in an average 26% decrease in the prices of medical equipment in the 10 MSAs, according to CMS (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/10). Summaries of the editorial and the opinion piece appear below.-
USA Today: "For most U.S. retailers, ruthless price competition is an everyday reality," but "companies that provide hospital beds, wheelchairs, walkers and other items to Medicare patients have had a sweet deal," as the "government sets the rates for renting or buying such items" that "can be astonishingly generous," a USA Today editorial states. The editorial adds, "Congress did the right thing five years ago when it passed a law requiring Medicare's suppliers of 'durable medical equipment' to submit to competitive bidding." However, "there's a snag, one that speaks volumes about how Washington works and is emblematic of how difficult it is to control runaway health care costs," as the launch of the program has prompted "howls of protest from those who profit from the current system," according to the editorial. "Delaying the bidding program would be a mistake," the editorial states. According to the editorial, changes to Medicare "will always be unsettling for patients, providers and politicians, but change is essential if it is to survive without consuming the federal budget" (USA Today, 6/26).
- Tyler Wilson, USA Today: "Congress is working on a bipartisan effort to improve the competitive bidding program" because competition in Medicare "should save money, should be fair and should not lower the quality of home care for seniors and people with disabilities," American Association for Homecare President Wilson writes in a USA Today opinion piece. Wilson adds, "Congress is trying to fix a broken bidding program that, unless improved, will improperly exclude thousands of qualified home care providers from Medicare -- and reduce competition." According to Wilson, although the "law requiring bidding is five years old," the "implementation rules were not announced until last year," and they are "deeply flawed." He concludes, "The proposed improvements would still save billions and preserve quality" (Wilson, USA Today, 6/26).
Broadcast Coverage
American Public Media's "Marketplace" on Wednesday reported on the competitive bidding program for DME in Medicare. The segment includes comments from New York Times business columnist David Leonhardt (Moon, "Marketplace," American Public Media, 6/25).
