,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bcge  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #ad1 #bjac ,mr4
 ,thompson of ,pennsylvania 7for himself
 and ,mr4 ,braley of ,iowa7 introduced  
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,energy and        
,commerce1 and in addition to the       
,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a   
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
delay for at least #f months the        
implementation of round #a recompete and
 round #b of the ,medicare durable      
medical equipment 7,,dme7 competitive   
bidding program and of the national mail
 order program for diabetic testing     
supplies to permit ,congress an         
opportunity to reform the competitive   
bidding program1 to provide for an      
evaluation of that program by an auction
 expert team1 and for other purposes4   

#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,transparency and               
,accountability in ,medicare ,bidding   
,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,delay in           
implementing the ,medicare ,,dme        
competitive bidding program and the     
national mail order program for diabetic
 testing supplies  7a7 ,in general      
,notwithstanding any other provision of 
law1 the ,secretary of ,health and      
,human ,services shall delay from ,july 
#a1 #bjac1 to a date that is no earlier 
than ,december #ca1 #bjac1 the dates of 
implementation of--  7#a7 round #b of   
the ,,dmepos competitive bidding program
 under section #ahdg of the ,social     
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#aciew-#c72 and  7#b7 the single payment
 amounts under the national mail order  
competition for diabetic supplies under 
such section4  7b7 ,round #a recompete  
delay ,notwithstanding any other        
provision of law1 the ,secretary of     
,health and ,human ,services shall delay
 the start of round #a recompete of such

 ,,dmepos competitive bidding program   
from ,january #a1 #bjad1 to a date that 
is no earlier than #f months after the  
date of initial implementation of round 
#b of such program4  #c4 ,evaluation of 
,,dmepos competitive bidding program by 
auction expert team  7a7 ,in general    
,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human   
,services 7in this section referred to  
as the ,secretary71 not later than #c   
months after the date of the enactment  
of this ,act and acting through the     
,office of the ,assistant ,secretary for
 ,planning and ,evaluation1 shall       
contract #c auction experts1 a health   
economist1 and an econometrician to work
 as a team 7in this section collectively
 referred to as the auction expert      
team71 led by the auction experts1 to   
independently review and assess all     
aspects of round #a re-bid and round #b 
of the ,,dmepos competitive bidding     
program under section #ahdg of the      
,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#aciew-#c71 including the design1       

development1 implementation1 adequacy of
 support for ,medicare beneficiaries    
with chronic illness or disabilities1   
market fairness1 sustainability1 and    
functioning of such program4  7b7       
,selection of auction expert team  7#a7 
,in general ,the selection of the       
experts on the auction expert team under
 subsection 7a7 shall be undertaken     
through a competitive process4  7#b7    
,disqualifications ,an individual shall 
not be selected for the auction expert  
team if such individual--  7,a7 is a    
current or former employee of the       
,centers for ,medicare  ,medicaid       
,services2  7,b7 is a current or former 
contractor for the ,centers for         
,medicare  ,medicaid ,services that     
participated in the design or           
implementation of the ,,dmepos          
competitive bidding program2  7,c7 does 
not have significant experience in      
implementing auctions of similar        
complexity in government programs2 and  
7,d7 does not have appropriate          

educational credentials4  7c7 ,access to
 information ,the ,secretary shall make 
available to the auction expert team all
 applicable information 7including      
confidential information7 on the        
,,dmepos competitive bidding program in 
its entirety 7including information on  
its design and the bidding under round  
#a1 round #a re-bid1 and round #b74  7d7
 ,report to ,secretary and ,congress    
7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #d     
months after the date the ,secretary    
enters into the contract with the       
experts under subsection 7a71 the       
auction expert team shall submit a      
report to the ,secretary and to the     
,congress on its assessment and review  
under subsection 7a74  7#b7 ,items to be
 included in report ,such report shall  
include the following and shall identify
 all potential problems with the        
,,dmepos competitive bidding program3   
7,a7 ,a review and assessment of the    
appropriateness of ,,hcpcs codes        
selected for auctions4  7,b7 ,an        

evaluation and assessment of the ability
 of individuals eligible for the        
,,dmepos items subject to the program to
 obtain these items and services1       
including an assessment of utilization  
patterns4  7,c7 ,an analysis of any     
current or future adverse effects on    
beneficiaries' health outcomes related  
to the program and related costs to the 
,medicare trust fund1 including an      
analysis of those beneficiaries in each 
competitively bid area who did not      
continue to receive such items and the  
effect on their ,medicare claims under  
parts ,a1 ,b1 and ,d4  7,d7 ,an         
identification and report on the cause  
of any material deterioration in the    
quality of items and services provided  
to an individual eligible for ,,dmepos  
benefits under the program4  7,e7 ,an   
evaluation of the costs of any          
preventable or prolonged                
hospitalizations due to lack of timely  
access to items and related services    
subject to the program4  7,f7 ,an       

identification1 for each product        
category and competitive bid area in the
 round #a re-bid1 of the following3  7i7
 ,the original winning bidders which    
signed contracts and the number of      
allowed unique ,medicare beneficiaries  
each contracting supplier fulfilled     
annually for the calendar years #bjaj1  
#bjaa and #bjab in the competitive      
bidding areas4  7ii7 ,how many          
contracting suppliers failed to submit  
beneficiary product claims for more than
 #fj consecutive days4  7iii7 ,an       
identification of ,,dmepos suppliers    
added after ,january #a1 #bjaa1 and the 
number of allowed unique ,medicare      
beneficiaries each such added supplier  
served annually for the calendar years  
#bjaj1 #bjaa and #bjab in the           
competitive bidding areas4  7,g7 ,an    
identification1 for each product        
category and each competitive bidding   
area in the round #a re-bid and in round
 #b1 of the following3  7i7 ,the number 
of winning suppliers4  7ii7 ,the number 

of such winning suppliers which have not
 previously supplied the ,,dmepos       
products bid for in the competitive     
bidding area4  7iii7 ,the total actual  
unique ,medicare beneficiaries served by
 such winning suppliers1 for #bjaj with 
the round #a re-bid and #bjab for round 
#b4  7iv7 ,the total capacity1 measured 
by unique ,medicare beneficiaries to be 
served by such winning suppliers1 as    
estimated by ,secretary to meet the     
needs of seniors during the contracting 
period4  7v7 ,such total capacity as bid
 by the winning bidders4  7vi7 ,the     
total capacity attributed by the        
,secretary to the winning bidders4  7#c7
 ,recommendations ,such report shall    
also include such recommendations for   
changes in such program as the auction  
expert team determines appropriate1     
including recommendations that respond  
to all the potential problems identified
 under paragraph 7#b74