Bipartisan bill introduced to replace Medicare competitive bidding process

On Sept. 21 a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives that would replace the Medicare DMEPOS competitive bidding program with market pricing. The bill, H.R. 6490, which is sponsored by Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and has received bipartisan support,  proposes a budget-neutral market-based pricing system for home medical equipment including oxygen therapy, wheel chairs and other durable medical equipment. In August, the AASM reported on the round 1 recompete of the Medicare DMEPOS competitive bidding program. The program was initially implemented in nine metropolitan areas in 2011 and this year has expanded to 91 additional metropolitan areas.