United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-05-06 monographic deposited born digital 16 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-767T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T P0b002ee180384b54 f:d08767t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T GAO-08-767T Accountability Beneficiaries Bid evaluation Bids Competition Cost analysis Cost control Cost effectiveness analysis Federal procurement Fees Health care cost control Insurance cost control Medical equipment Medical supplies Medicare Payments Prices and pricing Program evaluation Program management Program goals or objectives Medicare Program Testimony A81970 For more than a decade, GAO has reported that Medicare has paid higher than market rates for medical equipment and supplies provided to beneficiaries under Medicare Part B. Since 1989, Medicare has used fee schedules primarily based on historical charges to set payment amounts. But this approach lacks flexibility to keep pace with market changes and increases costs to the federal government and Medicare's 44 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 required the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--the agency that administers Medicare--to test competitive bidding as a new way to set payments. CMS did this through a demonstration in two locations in which suppliers could compete on the basis of price and other factors for the right to provide their products. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) required CMS to conduct competitive bidding on a large scale and suppliers to obtain accreditation. GAO was asked to describe the effects that competitive bidding could have on Medicare program payments and suppliers and the need for adequate oversight to ensure quality and access for beneficiaries in a competitive bidding environment. This testimony is based primarily on GAO work conducted from May 1994 to January 2007, which GAO updated by interviewing CMS officials and reviewing agency documents. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T.pdf GAO-08-767T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-767T Testimony GAO-08-767T; Medicare: Competitive Bidding for Medical Equipment and Supplies Could Reduce Program Payments, but Adequate Oversight Is Critical; Accountability Beneficiaries Bid evaluation Bids Competition Cost analysis Cost control Cost effectiveness analysis Federal procurement Fees Health care cost control Insurance cost control Medical equipment Medical supplies Medicare Payments Prices and pricing Program evaluation Program management Program goals or objectives Medicare Program Volume 111 Page 251 111 Stat. 251 Volume 117 Page 2066 117 Stat. 2066 Public Law 105-33 Public Law 108-173