The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a list of the “winning” prices for its DME competitive bidding program. The bid rates are posted at dmecompetitivebid.com.

A July 1 news release said, “Medicare beneficiaries in nine areas of the country who use certain medical equipment and supplies will see average savings of about 32 percent off the current cost of those items.”

In a media conference call, Jonathan Blum, CMS deputy administrator, said 1,287 contracts will be offered to 364 DME suppliers who have a total of 622 locations. Blum said 72 percent of suppliers to be offered contracts have market presence in the areas in which they’ve won bids.

Ahead of the official CMS announcement, the DME industry had been working to keep its own message – that this program is anything but competitive and will in fact destroy small businesses and dangerously reduce beneficiary access – in front of members of Congress.

Said the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) in a June 23 bulletin to its members: “We expect that CMS will contact members of Congress and the media to boast about the projected savings from the bidding program. AAHomecare is preparing its own response that will be directed at both Congress and at the media.”