Another round of competitive bidding to set Medicare’s HME rates is coming to the nine markets where bidding was conducted for the first time three years ago, CMS says in an April 17 announcement.

Although the initial round of bidding had a dramatic impact on many affected suppliers, the second round appears to be mostly routine. Congress required that rebidding of the competitively set rates occur every three years.

The start of bidding in the new round is scheduled for fall of this year. Bids for HME products in the 91 markets covered by the second round of competitive rate setting are still pending.

As in the first round, new bids in the initial nine markets will be accepted for six categories of products:

  • Respiratory equipment and related supplies and accessories.
  • Standard mobility equipment and related accessories.
  • General home equipment and related supplies and accessories.
  • Enteral nutrients, equipment and supplies.
  • Negative pressure wound therapy pumps and related supplies and accessories.
  • External infusion pumps and supplies.

CMS is exempting retail (non-mail order) diabetes supplies, but is adding several “high-cost, high-volume items with a large savings potential” to the list, the announcement states. They include standard nebulizers and external infusion pumps, a CMS spokeswoman says tells HHL.