CBIC Announces Next Bid for Round 1 Areas in 2017

for Round 1 areas in 2017.   This next round is to begin once the current Round 1 Recompete contracts expire on December 31, 2016.  Round 1 2017 will take place in the same nine Metropolitan Service Areas (MSAs) as the Round 1 Recompete; however, due to changes in the program and zip code updates the nine MSAs now break down into 13 Competitive Bidding Areas.  Those CBAs are...

• Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC
• Chester, Lancaster & York Counties, SC
• Cincinnati, OH
• Cleveland-Elyria, OH
• Covington-Florence-Newport, KY
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
• Dearborn-Franklin-Ohio & Union Counties, IN
• Kansas City, MO
• Kansas City-Overland Park-Ottawa, KS
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
• Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
• Pittsburg, PA
• Riverside-Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Product categories have also been shuffled in this next competition.  The major changes include:

• The addition of Non-Invasive Ventilator HCPCS E0464 as a stand-alone product category.
• TENS units were removed from the General Home Equipment category and established as their own separate bidding category.
• Nebulizers and related supplies and accessories were also broken out from the Respiratory category to stand alone as their own bidding category.

The break out of these products as stand-alone product categories, provides flexibility for suppliers that supply only those products and not the remaining items in the General and Respiratory categories. To view the full list of HCPCS to be bid under this competition click here.

CMS has also established specific rules regarding the Ventilator category as this product will only be bid in a total of eight CBAs:

1. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC
2. Chester, Lancaster & York counties, SC
3. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
4. Kansas City-Overland Park-Ottawa, KS
5. Kansas City, MO
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
7. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Therefore bidding will not take place for the E0464 in: Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland-Elyria, OH; Covington-Florence-Newport, KY; Dearborn-Franklin-Ohio & Union Counties, IN and Pittsburg, PA.

This next round was announced April 21, 2015, and bidding is projected to begin this fall.