Frank Pallone: “I cannot support a delay in the expansion of the competitive bidding program. Competitive bidding for durable medical…”

“I cannot support a delay in the expansion of the competitive bidding program. Competitive bidding for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) has saved the Medicare program billions of dollars. And lowering costs for the Medicare program means lower copayments for Medicare beneficiaries. Over the years, it has been widely documented by the HHS Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office that Medicare payments for DMEPOS far exceeded reasonable costs. This is why Congress passed legislation requiring competitive bidding for DMEPOS incrementally. Since 2011, CMS has closely monitored all beneficiaries in the competitive bidding areas, and there have been no access concerns. Health outcomes are steady compared to before Medicare began the competitive bidding program. CMS will continue to monitor health outcomes, and until we see any concerns, I do not believe we should stop the progress in saving money for both beneficiaries and the Medicare program. That said, the Medicaid policies in this legislation were passed by the House in March of this year, 406-0, after consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The first policy, the Medicaid DOC Act, is an initiative first introduced by Reps. Collins and Tonko and would require states that participate in fee-for-service Medicaid to publish electronic provider directories.…”