Members of Congress urge one-year delay in Medicare bidding program for home medical equipment

Nearly one-third of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged a one-year delay in the controversial and flawed "competitive bidding" program for home medical equipment in Medicare. Two letters singed by 132 members of Congress urge the leaders of the Ways and Means Committee and its subcommittee on health to "delay implementation of this program until outstanding issues can be resolved." The letters cite homecare providers that were excluded from the bidding program "apparently through no fault of their own," discrepancies in information and contract awards, and lack of transparency at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services about the evaluation of bids and the calculation of reimbursement rates. The bidding program applies to oxygen therapy, power wheelchairs, hospital beds, and several other categories of durable medical equipment and services used by beneficiaries in the home.

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