WASHINGTON, D.C. - Stephen J. Ubl, President and CEO of AdvaMed, released the following statement after Linwood A. Staub, President of Global V.A.C.® Therapy at Kinetic Concepts, Inc., testified on behalf of AdvaMed before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship about problems with the Competitive Bidding program that threaten patient access to Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies:

"Mr. Staub's testimony clearly outlines the risk to patients of proceeding too quickly with this flawed competitive bidding program, and puts forth common-sense solutions that will protect the health and well being of those who rely on this equipment to live more independent, healthier lives.

"The competitive bidding program as it currently exists does not appropriately differentiate between extremely complex technologies and simpler products that for administrative purposes were often put into a single category by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This means a supplier may vastly underbid in a category based on a simpler technology and the more complex technology in the same category may not be available to patients in need."
In his testimony, Mr. Staub made several recommendations to Congress on how to best move forward including:

* Increase transparency and stakeholder input into the program by directing CMS to allow public comment on the categories and codes proposed for all future phases of the Competitive Bidding program, to convene a public meeting to discuss the categories and codes and accept written comments, respond to comments received, and provide a rationale for final determinations.

* Require CMS to conduct a separate bidding process in each and every Competitive Bidding Area in order to ensure that the payment amounts used by Medicare reflect local market conditions, or, at a minimum, to demonstrate that current payments in the area are unreasonable while proposed adjustments are reasonable.

* Solicit expert opinion and hold public meetings to identify the need for and develop supplier quality standards specific to therapeutic product categories when appropriate.

* For therapeutic categories, require CMS to validate winning suppliers' capacity to provide the products and capability to support patients and caregivers using those products by developing quality and accreditation standards for those categories.

* Require CMS to evaluate the impact of competitive bidding on therapeutic products based on clinical outcomes and total Medicare costs.


Read Mr. Staub's testimony at
http://www.advamed.org/NR/rdonlyres/E189A89C-D3E6-494B-98B2-007BD5BAA126/0/AdvaMedtestimonyKCI52108.pdf


AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. Our members produce nearly 90 percent of the health care technology purchased annually in the United States and more than 50 percent purchased annually around the world. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit www.advamed.org.

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