Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/45026
6 News BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor PHILADELPHIA – State lines might just be marks on a map to CMS, but for providers looking to bid in the Philadelphia competitive bid- ding area (CBA), they're present- ing real boundaries. To submit a bid in the Phila- delphia CBA, providers will need to meet state licensure require- ments in not only Pennsylvania but also Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The Allentown CBA also includes part of New Jersey. Providing HME across state lines means providers need to learn the nuances of each state's programs, said John Shirvinsky, executive director of the Pennsylvania Asso- ciation of Medical Suppli- ers. "If you've seen one Medicaid program… you've seen only one Medicaid program," said Shirvinsky. "By forcing these very large interstate bidding areas, they're cre- ating very unnecessary problems." WWW.HMENEWS.COM / NOVEMBER 2011 / HME NEWS WILL SOME AREAS BE IMPOSSIBLE TO BID? One of those prob- John Shirvinsky lems: The state of Mary- land requires a busi- ness license, a process that typically takes six months and costs a non- refundable $500, accord- ing to Shirvinsky. Get- ting through that pro- cess before bidding is scheduled The Provider with the Best Technology Wins! To win in today's changing environment requires powerful & innovative solutions. That's where we come in. Fastrack's integrated technology, software & services ensure that providers have the right tools to improve cash flow, increase productivity and enhance patient satisfaction. To obtain a competitive advantage, call us at 1-800-520-2325 or visit us on the web: www.onlyfastrack.com Wireless Warehouse Automation ________________________________ Routing Optimization of Delivery Vehicles ________________________________ Data Mining ________________________________ Document Storage/Fax _______________________________ Referral Management Web Portal _______________________________ e-Commerce Storefront _______________________________ Touch Screen Point of Sale w/Credit Card Processing Fastrack offers a complete software solution for HME, Infusion Pharmacy & Homecare Agencies! 1-800-520-2325 info@fastrk.com www.onlyfastrack.com SaaS (Internet Hosted) or License the Software to run on your in-house server. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 guarantees, and several other of the professor's recommendations. But the system also modifies and adds to Cramton's ideas by, for example, reducing the size of the affected areas (market pricing by county or aggregates of coun- ties in more rural areas, rather than metropolitan statistical areas) and reducing the number of affected product categories (a limit of two per county). "The idea is not to cover Cleve- land from top to bottom for every product," Wilson said. " So if you don't win bids for beds and CPAP, you're going to be excluded from those product categories, but hopefully your menu of products is large enough that you can get beyond that." Stakeholders believe the system is the best bet at protecting the industry. "Even our champions in the House have made it clear for months that they support repeal- ing the program, but that doesn't mean they support returning to the status quo," said Seth John- son, vice president of govern- ment affairs for Pride Mobility Products. "They support repeal- ing it and replacing it with some alternative that results in savings but not the negative outcomes we're seeing in Round 1 and that would be multiplied tenfold with the expansion of Round 2." A wide range of parties, including state associations and other industry groups like NAIMES and The VGM Group, were involved in developing and vetting the system. "No one wants to say we're bowing to competitive bidding, because we're not," said Rose Schafhauser, executive direc- tor of the Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Services, and a member of AAHomecare's State Leaders Council. "Our No. 1 goal is to show how bad this pro- gram is, but we have to be real- istic that they're going to want something from us to eliminate the program." Stakeholders are now working double time on the Hill to move the system from a set of principles to legislative specifics, and into a piece of legislation, all before the end of the year. HME to open in the winter of 2012 may be difficult for providers, he said. Another problem: New Jersey has a moratorium on new HME providers entering the Medicaid program. "Non-New Jersey providers are at a distinct disadvantage in that they will be unable to serve the BID SEE PAGE 12 ALTERNATIVE