July 31, 2014
House Supports HIDA Call for Comprehensive
Competitive Bidding Program Review
Alexandria, Va. – On July 25, a sign-on letter from 138 House Representatives was sent to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting a comprehensive analysis of Medicare’s competitive bidding program for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS).
The bipartisan letter—led by Reps. Tom Price (R-GA), Tom Reed (R-NY), Bruce Braley (D-IA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—requested OIG to:.
- Evaluate changes in products and treatment patterns of enteral nutrition therapy patients residing in skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, and intermediate care facilities
- Determine whether the use of new enteral nutrition suppliers has increased costs to facilities and the Medicare program
The success of securing congressional support was attributed to HIDA’s Capitol Hill Fly-in, when 40 distributor executives went to Washington, D.C., in June to encourage members of Congress to sign the letter.
“When 95 Republicans and 43 Democrats can jointly support one of HIDA’s advocacy priorities, that’s a significant legislative and regulatory win for our industry,” said HIDA Board Chairman and Seneca Medical, Inc. Executive Vice President Dave Myers. “We look forward to continuing to work with congressional champions to ensure this program works as intended and does not disrupt Medicare beneficiary access to key medical products.”
For further information, resources: Event summary, HIDA Govt. Affairs, Competitive Bidding issue page, HIDA Blog
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jeff Girardi, 703-838-6110
girardi@hida.org
About HIDA
The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) is the premier trade association representing medical products distribution. HIDA members primarily serve the nation’s hospital, long term care and physician/alternate care markets. For more information, visit www.HIDA.org or www.streamlininghealthcare.org.