The Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) has released the bidding timeline for the Round 1 2017 rollout. Bidder registration is set to begin on August 25, 2015, and stretches through to October. Round 1 affects a total of nine Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSAs) and eight product categories. Suppliers that wish to participate in bidding must have their authorized official and back up authorized officials registered by October 23rd in order to participate in this round. Bidding will be opened on October 5th and bids will be accepted through December 16, 2015.
With this round of bidding, CMS has decided to begin synchronizing contract terms for Round 1 and Round 2. To do that, CMS shortened the contract terms for both of the most recent rounds of Competitive Bidding. Round 1 2017 contracts were shortened from three years to two years. And Round 2 contracts were shortened from three years to two and a half years.
Historically, Round 1 contracts have run on a three year term from January 1st to December 31st. Round 2 contracts on the other hand, have typically run on a three year term from July 1st to June 30th. However, for these next two rounds of bidding contract terms will be synchronized to end simultaneously on December 31, 2018.
This is a change that was somewhat expected, as discussed in our January 13th webcast, The Final Rule Breakdown Part 1: An In-Depth Discussion of the Competitive Bidding Expansion. In discussing the ESRD Final Rule with a CMS official in January, the representative hinted at CMS' intent to synchronize future rounds of bidding by shortening contract length. The final announcement of the bidding timeline solidifies these changes.
Synchronizing these contracts streamlines the bidding process for providers and contractors involved in those transactions. This puts everyone on the same schedule for future rounds of contracting.
To further stabilize the competitive bidding environment, the industry succeeded in passing legislation that solidifies binding bids and requires bidders to prove state licensure prior to bid submission. Recent efforts highlight the increased collaboration between the DME industry and decision makers at HHS and CMS. Join us for our upcoming event on August 26th as we discuss these and other major changes coming our way so you can prepare, adapt, navigate and grow in this evolving market.
Read more on the MiraVista blog: http://www.miravistallc.com/blog/