DMEPOS Competitive Bidding - Round 2021: Bid Window Now Open

The bid window is now open for all suppliers interested in participating in Round 2021 of the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. To bid in Round 2021, you must have a user account in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Enterprise Portal and have access to the DMEPOS Bidding System, DBidS, and Connexion, the program’s secure portal. If you have not already registered for a user account and requested access to DBidS and Connexion, please do so as soon as possible. Registration to request access to DBidS closes on August 16, 2019. However, registration to add access to Connexion always remains open.

To begin bidding, you can access DBidS one of two ways:

Further instructions, including the DBidS User Guide and Uploading Documents in Connexion Quick Reference, are available on the CBIC website.

All bids must be submitted in DBidS and required documents must be uploaded in Connexion by 8:59:59 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time on September 18, 2019.

CMS urges all bidders to take advantage of the covered document review process when uploading their required financial documents. Under this process, bidders whose required financial documents are uploaded in Connexion by the covered document review date (CDRD) are notified if any individual financial documents are missing, and will then have an opportunity to upload the missing financial document(s). The CDRD for Round 2021 is August 19, 2019. Required financial documents must be uploaded on or before this date to qualify for the covered document review process.

Note: Please ensure your documents are not password protected before uploading in Connexion.

Attend the Webcast Series

     May 14, 3 - 4 p.m. EDT - Bid Surety Bond and Lead Item Pricing (Now available on demand)
     May 21, 3 - 4 p.m. EDT - Preparing and Submitting Financial Documents (Now available on demand)
     June 11, 3 - 4 p.m. EDT - Registering and Submitting a Bid - Part 1 (Now available on demand)
     July 23, 3 - 4 p.m. EDT - Registering and Submitting a Bid - Part 2

Registration for the webcasts can be completed by clicking the session names above. Once a live webcast has been presented, an on-demand version can be viewed through the session’s corresponding registration link. Resources, such as slides and other handouts, are available during both the live and on-demand sessions. 

Webcast Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Update
CMS released responses to FAQs from the first three webcasts on July 9, 2019. However, the response to the first question in the Financial section has been updated to clarify that the required financial statements must be prepared on the same accounting basis, but the tax return extract does not have to be prepared on the same accounting basis as the financial statements. Below is the updated FAQ response:

Q: Our tax returns are done on a cash basis; however, our financial statements (i.e., income statement, statement of cash flows, and balance sheet) are done on an accrual basis. Is this acceptable?
A: The required financial statements (e.g., income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows) must be prepared on the same accounting basis: accrual, cash, or tax. However, the required financial documents can be prepared on a mix of accrual, cash, and or tax basis (e.g., tax return extract prepared on a cash basis and the financial statements prepared on an accrual basis is acceptable).
 

The CBIC is the official information source for bidders and bidder education. CMS cautions bidders about potential inaccurate information concerning the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program posted on websites other than the CBIC website. Bidders that rely on this information in the preparation or submission of their bids could be at risk of submitting a non-compliant bid. Visit the CBIC website for valuable resources and tools and to subscribe to Email Updates.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please call the CBIC customer service center at 877-577-5331. During the registration and bid windows, the customer service center is open between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Hours are extended to 9 p.m. prevailing Eastern Time during the last two weeks of both the registration and bid windows.