The Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) followed procedures 97 percent of the time when awarding contracts for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS).
Out of the 225 DMEPOS suppliers selected in the first six months of 2014, the OIG found CMS failed to follow competitive bidding procedures when selecting six of the suppliers (.03 percent), five suppliers that were noncompliant with financial statement requirements and one supplier that lacked the applicable state license. The errors led to an estimated overspending of $25,054.
OIG wants CMS to ensure it has a system for identifying potentially unlicensed suppliers to prevent problems in the future. The competitive bidding procedures require suppliers to maintain licenses for the duration of their three-year contracts, but the licenses of seven suppliers lapsed after the close of the bidding window. CMS said it is setting up a system to “continuously monitor DMEPOS suppliers to ensure that they maintain an active license throughout the duration of their Medicare enrollment.”
To read the report, visit “CMS Generally Met Requirements For The DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program Round 1 Recompete” on the OIG website.
