The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have included $22 million dollars in its 2026 budget to relaunch the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program. The program had been in a temporary gap period since January 1, 2024.
“The competitive bidding program saves taxpayers money while ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries have easy access to affordable medical equipment,” according to the FY 2026 Budget in Brief.
The Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees outlined the plan to resume the program. According to a bulletin from AAHomecare, CMS will:
- Migrate IT systems from the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor to the CMS Cloud environment
- Complete the public notice and comment rulemaking process
- Implement changes to:
- Establish sustainable DMEPOS pricing
- Reduce Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse
- Ensure beneficiary access to quality products and services
Restarting the bidding process will require:
- Bidder registration: Assisting suppliers in obtaining credentials to access the bidding system
- Solicitation of bids: Managing call centers to support bidder inquiries
- Bid evaluation: Including licensure and accreditation checks, surety bond validation, and document review
“AAHomecare will continue to partner with industry stakeholders and members of Congress to ensure that bidding processes lead to sustainable prices,” the association said in a statement. “The association will prioritize efforts to require bidders to be properly qualified and able to stand by their bids, to ensure appropriate price-setting mechanisms and transparency throughout the process and to limit CMS’ ability to once again cancel the bidding results if they are not satisfied with the prices established.”
To read the FY 2026 Budget in brief, visit the HHS website.
To read the Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, visit the CMS website.
