LUBBOCK, Texas, Dec. 28, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — The MED Group, a
Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (MHA) Company, announces the
creation of www.medicaresuppliersnetwork.com.
The website was created to help answer questions for Medicare
beneficiaries and referral sources, such as physician offices,
about competitive bidding and how patients can receive their
medical equipment under this new program.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be
implementing a new program January 1, 2011 that will make drastic
changes to how Medicare beneficiaries receive their medical
equipment. Presently, Medicare beneficiaries and referral
sources are allowed to choose a medical equipment supplier of their
choice. The new program called “competitive bidding” will
reduce and limit the number of medical equipment companies that can
provide equipment to traditional Medicare beneficiaries. This
program does not affect any patients who are on a Medicare
Advantage Plan or traditional insurance. CMS was mandated by
Congress to create this program to help control Medicare costs and
lower out of pocket expenses for seniors.
In the Dallas/Ft. Worth area approximately 80-85% of medical
equipment companies will be excluded from providing equipment to
traditional Medicare beneficiaries. This program is limited
to the eleven counties surrounding the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and is
based on the zip code of the patient. The counties included
are Dallas, Tarrant, Hunt, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Collin,
Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. There is an estimated
564,000 Medicare beneficiaries living within the Dallas/Ft. Worth
competitive bidding area.
Any traditional Medicare beneficiary living in the eleven
counties (according to their zip code) will be required to use a
medical equipment company from the approved list of contracted
medical equipment suppliers fo
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