The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report that examines the extent to which Medicare mail order market share for diabetes test strips changed after the start of national mail order competitive bidding for these items on July 1, 2013. According to the OIG, based on a sample of 1,210 claims, there was a somewhat greater concentration of market share three months after competitive bidding contracts went into effect compared to before bidding. Specifically, after competitive bidding was instituted, two types of test strips accounted for 44% of the Medicare mail order market share (up from 34%), three types made up 58% of the market share (up from 51%), and 10 types accounted for 91% (up from 75%). The OIG intends for CMS to use this information to evaluate the effect of the mail order bidding program on the types of diabetes test strips available to beneficiaries, and to assess whether bidders have met their statutory obligations to demonstrate that their bids cover at least 50%, by volume, of all types of mail order diabetes test strips.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
