May 5, 2008
The Honorable Pete Stark
Chairman
U.S. House Committee Ways and Means - Subcommittee on Health
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Dave Camp
Ranking Member
U.S. House Committee Ways and Means - Subcommittee on Health
1139E Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Stark and Ranking Member Camp:
On behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's leading small business advocacy group, we are writing regarding concerns expressed by NFIB members affected by the Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS).
The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) required that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implement a competitive bidding process to contract with suppliers and other providers for certain types of equipment and supplies. The law called for phasing-in competitive bidding beginning in 10 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in 2007. The program is scheduled to be expanded into 70 additional MSAs in 2009.
Although CMS estimates that approximately 85 percent of registered DMEPOS suppliers are considered small businesses, the small business community is concerned that this program threatens the viability of their success. Small business owners have called the DMEPOS competitive bidding program flawed and expressed concerns that if they lost a bid, they would be locked out of the Medicare marketplace altogether, which threatens to put them out of business.
These small businesses provide specialized service to beneficiaries and their presence is critical to ensuring that health care remains accessible in their communities. Small suppliers typically know their customers personally, are familiar with their unique needs and often go out of their way to assure that those needs are being addressed.
As CMS prepares to expand the competitive bidding program to the next 70 MSAs, we ask that Congress evaluate the impact of this program on small businesses and the beneficiaries they serve every day. We are hopeful that after reviewing the data, Congress will have the information necessary to consider whether changes should be made and if the program should be expanded further.
Thank you for examining the potentially unintended consequences of the program on small businesses community and overall access to quality healthcare. We look forward to working with you to resolve these concerns.
Sincerely,
Dan Danner
Executive Vice President
Public Policy and Political
