On July 15, 2008, the new law went into affect on H.R. 6331 Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.
What this means for the world of Orthotic, Prosthetic and Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers, at this time, indicates that the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program has been terminated.
Although, I believe the termination of this cumbersome competitive bidding program can be thought of as a victory to healthcare providers in some respects, I can't help but think about the waste of time and money spent over the last several years to get the program up and running. Not only that, but the time, energy and expenses incurred by providers to submit bids to participate in the program on the first round, and even into the second round, can be viewed as "Time Wasted".
If claims were submitted under the competitive bidding program, suppliers may have to have all of their claims re-adjusted. I recently read an email from one of the DME MAC Jurisdictions indicating that "Suppliers may have to call in to have their claims adjusted" for some of these claims. Ugh! What a nightmare!
And what about our patients? Does this cause more confusion for them to understand all of this nonsense? Of course it does!
In a nutshell, I believe the government should get better control on how they plan to implement these healthcare programs BEFORE they ever plan to put them into action! In my opinion...Our time, investment and tax dollars are being wasted!!!
If you would like to read more about this new law, visit this website @
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-6331