Contracted providers for MSAs in Tennessee report FedEx letters arrived this morning (June 14) from the CBIC declaring that select bids have been disqualified and previously awarded contracts would be amended to strike affected bid areas. Specifically, bidders that did not meet state licensure requirements before May 1, 2012 are affected. Curiously enough, CBIC contacted affected bidders by letter several weeks ago and granted a grace period, giving providers until July 1, 2013 to comply.
So where does this leave us? There are a few possible outcomes…
With disqualified bids, CMS must revisit the single payment amounts and contracted rates.
So where does this leave us? There are a few possible outcomes…
With disqualified bids, CMS must revisit the single payment amounts and contracted rates.
The announcement of disqualified bids potentially invalidates the whole contracting process. When a provider is disqualified, their bid amounts cannot be used in the calculation of the single payment amount. This begs the question whether any of the previously awarded contracts are valid as they do not have accurate pricing. Secondarily, if any contracted provider is disqualified, the CBIC will also have to add replacement suppliers. It stands to reason that, in order to meet capacity requirements, the CBIC may have to advance up the bidder chain significantly to find qualified providers where licensure is currently in place.
CMS could announce a full or partial delay of the program.
CMS may delay. It takes time to execute new contracts and to recalculate single payment amounts. Alternatively, CMS could decide to stick with the original schedule but not pursue contracting in the MSAs where licensure is an issue. Precedent along these lines was established in Round 1 after capacity could not be acquired in the bid process for San Juan, PR. This is an unlikely option, however, as we are not aware of any public notification or communications with unaffected contract providers.
MiraVista will continue to monitor the situation and will communicate developments as they become available.
CMS could announce a full or partial delay of the program.
CMS may delay. It takes time to execute new contracts and to recalculate single payment amounts. Alternatively, CMS could decide to stick with the original schedule but not pursue contracting in the MSAs where licensure is an issue. Precedent along these lines was established in Round 1 after capacity could not be acquired in the bid process for San Juan, PR. This is an unlikely option, however, as we are not aware of any public notification or communications with unaffected contract providers.
MiraVista will continue to monitor the situation and will communicate developments as they become available.
RSS Feed