Medicare DME Competitive Bidding Program Under Fire

Investigators at the California Institute of Technology are warning that Medicare's competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment (DME) is intrinsically flawed and likely to fail.

Under the plan, skilled nursing facilities that need DME supplies can purchase them only from companies that submit the lowest bid to, and are approved by, CMS. The investigators are warning that this could force participants to submit low-ball bids, pushing prices down so low that the companies would have to cancel their offers.

If this were to take place, the researchers warn, the government could end up negotiating prices with individual companies, which negates the whole purpose of a competitive-bidding program.

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