National Family Caregivers Month and the Sandwich Generation

November is National Family Caregivers Month, a time when the nation prepares to thank, support, educate, and celebrate its estimated 50 million caregivers.

Many of your customers are part of the "sandwich" generation -- baby boomers caring for aged parents AND teenagers. They have A LOT of stress. Make it your business to recognize them when they come into your pharmacy. They will use a lot of DMEPOS!

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Not Enough Bidders in First Round

CMS suggested in the Final Rule on competitive bidding that approximately 18,000 DMEPOS suppliers serviced the first 10 selected MSAs. Of those, 90 percent would bid, and of those 50 percent, or approximately 8,000, would be winning bidders. At the most recent PAOC meeting it was disclosed that approximately 2,000 suppliers submitted bids. The question of the day is…are 2,000 suppliers sufficient to provide convenient access to required DMEPOS in a timely manner? Stay tuned!

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Four Reasons Pharmacists Are NOT Yet Accredited

Four Reasons Most Pharmacists Are NOT Yet Accredited to Sell DMEPOS

1. Diabetes supplies are exempt from competitive bidding in the first round (However, you STILL must obtain accreditation to sell them.)
2. The mandatory accreditation deadline for ALL suppliers has NOT been announced (see DMe-Alert, Oct. 19).
3. Accreditation costs still remain prohibitive (approximately $8,500).
4. Surety bond requirements will further increase the costs to maintain a Part B supplier billing number.

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You Need a Crystal Ball to Bid on DMEPOS

Suppliers bidding on DMEPOS product categories like walkers must not only account for inflation over a three year period, but must additionally consider the cost of raw commodities used to build these items. For instance, the price of batteries used in power wheelchairs have skyrocketed due to the incredible increases in the cost of lead.

Even the government has a tough time predicting inflation, raw commodity costs (i.e., crude oil) and the long-term affect on our economy, but suppliers must lock in bid prices for THREE years AND be held accountable if unable to meet winning bid obligations…..go figure!