HMEs: Ask Lawmakers to Enact Market Pricing Program

Congress is in recess until late January but is still working on important issues. While lawmakers are back in their home states, it’s important for HME providers to ask their Representatives and Senators to support the Market Pricing Program (MPP) and convey that support to their respective Republican or Democratic leadership in the House and Senate.

Ask your Representatives and Senators to contact their party’s leadership and ask that the MPP proposal be included in the final “doc fix” bill that is sent to the President. The short “patch” to the doc fix as well as the extension of payroll tax cuts expire at the end of February 2012, so time is short.

A House-Senate conference committee for the doc fix and payroll tax break legislation has been appointed to reconcile differences between the two parties and the two chambers of Congress. Members of this conference committee will be especially influential in what is included or excluded from the doc fix legislation.

While the House and Senate are in recess, please contact your Senators and Representative in their state or district offices to convey your concerns or schedule a meeting during the January congressional recess period.

If you have any questions or feedback from House or Senate staff, please contact Jay Witter at jayw@aahomecare.org.

Talking Points for Senators, Representatives and Staff

Members of Congress need to contact House leadership and House-Senate conference committee members and ask that MPP be included in the final “doc fix” bill that is sent to the President.

The following are key components of MPP:

• The current competitive bidding system has failed and needs to be replaced at the earliest legislative opportunity;
  
• MPP is a sustainable market pricing system for HME;
  
• MPP includes the same HME items as the current bidding program and is implemented across the country in the same time frame;
  
• Two product categories are bid per geographic area. Eight additional product categories in that same area would have prices reduced based on auctions conducted simultaneously in comparable geographic areas;
  
• Bid areas are smaller than metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and more homogeneous;
• Bids are binding and cash deposits are required to ensure only serious bidders participate; The bid price is based on the clearing price, not the median price of winners;
  
• The same areas that are exempted under the current bidding program will be exempted in this Act.
  

Background documents regarding the market pricing program listed individually below are also collected on our website.

• Section-by-Section Summary of DMEPOS Market Pricing Program
  
• Market Pricing Program Frequently Asked Questions
  
• Market Pricing Program Chart
  
• Problems with Competitive Bidding
  
• HME Medicare Spending Chart
  
• Round 1 and Round 2 Competitive Bidding MSAs