March Likely to Be the Month for Final NCB Rule
At the Open Door Forum held last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said that the final rule for national competitive bidding will be issued soon.
Cara Bachenheimer, vice president of Government Relations for Invacare Corp., predicted a specific date for the issuing of the final rule — Friday, March 30.
While the industry awaits the final rule, all of the information that the industry has been waiting for might not be included within the final rule. A specific list of the 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and the products selected for competitive bidding are likely to be issued in companion documents on the same day as the final rule.
Last Tuesday CMS sent the rule to the Office of Management and Budget for its review.
At the Open Door, Joel Kaiser, Center for Medicare Management, reminded providers of the importance of getting accredited, particularly if they are located in one of the likely MSAs.
The possible cities include: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Riverside, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle, Tampa and Philadelphia.
Kaiser also reminded providers to make sure they update their supplier information when enrolling with the National Supplier Clearinghouse.
This article originally appeared in the March 2007 issue of HME Business.