II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3144 

To amend part B of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to delay and 

reform the Medicare competitive acquisition program for purchase of 

durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2008 

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VOINOVICH, 

Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. CASEY, Ms. 

COLLINS, Mr. LEVIN, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. BURR, Mr. DODD, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. HATCH, 

Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mrs. LINCOLN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend part B of title XVIII of the Social Security 

Act to delay and reform the Medicare competitive acquisition program for purchase of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare DMEPOS 

5 Competitive Acquisition Reform Act of 2008’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DELAY IN AND REFORM OF MEDICARE DMEPOS 

2 COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) TEMPORARY DELAY AND REFORM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1847(a)(1) of the 

5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–3(a)(1)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (B)(i), in the 

9 matter before subclause (I), by inserting 

10 ‘‘consistent with subparagraph (D)’’ after 

11 ‘‘in a manner’’; 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i)(II), by 

13 striking ‘‘80’’ and ‘‘in 2009’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘an additional 70’’ and ‘‘in 2011’’, respec15 tively; 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(i)(III), by 

17 striking ‘‘after 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘after 

18 2011 (or, in the case of national mail order 

19 for items and services, after 2010)’’; and 

20 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

21 new subparagraphs: 

22 ‘‘(D) CHANGES IN COMPETITIVE ACQUISI23 TION PROGRAMS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) ROUND 1 OF COMPETITIVE AC25 QUISITION PROGRAM.—Notwithstanding 

26 subparagraph (B)(i)(I) and in impleVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:18 Jun 19, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3144.IS S3144

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1 menting the first round of the competitive 

2 acquisition programs under this section— 

3 ‘‘(I) the contracts awarded under 

4 this section before the date of the en5 actment of this subparagraph are ter6 minated, no payment shall be made 

7 under this title on or after the date of 

8 the enactment of this subparagraph 

9 based on such a contract, and, to the 

10 extent that any damages may be ap11 plicable as a result of the termination 

12 of such contracts, such damages shall 

13 be payable from the Federal Supple14 mentary Medical Insurance Trust 

15 Fund under section 1841; 

16 ‘‘(II) the Secretary shall conduct 

17 the competition for such round in a 

18 manner so that it occurs in 2009 with 

19 respect to the same items and services 

20 and the same areas, except as pro21 vided in subclauses (III) and (IV); 

22 ‘‘(III) the Secretary shall exclude 

23 Puerto Rico so that such round of 

24 competition covers 9, instead of 10, of 


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1 the largest metropolitan statistical 

2 areas; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) there shall be excluded 

4 negative pressure wound therapy 

5 items and services. 

6 Nothing in subclause (I) shall be construed 

7 to provide an independent cause of action 

8 or right to administrative or judicial review 

9 with regard to the termination provided 

10 under such subclause. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ROUND 2 OF COMPETITIVE AC12 QUISITION PROGRAM.—In implementing 

13 the second round of the competitive acqui14 sition programs under this section de15 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i)(II)— 

16 ‘‘(I) the metropolitan statistical 

17 areas to be included shall be those 

18 metropolitan statistical areas selected 

19 by the Secretary for such round as of 

20 June 1, 2008; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the Secretary may sub22 divide metropolitan statistical areas 

23 with populations (based upon the 

24 most recent data from the Census Bu25 reau) of at least 8,000,000 into sepaVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:18 Jun 19, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3144.IS S3144

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1 rate areas for competitive acquisition 

2 purposes. 

3 ‘‘(iii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AREAS

4 IN SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS OF COMPETITIVE

5 ACQUISITION PROGRAMS.—In imple6 menting subsequent rounds of the competi7 tive acquisition programs under this sec8 tion, including under subparagraph 

9 (B)(i)(III), for competitions occurring be10 fore 2015, the Secretary shall exempt from 

11 the competitive acquisition program (other 

12 than national mail order) the following: 

13 ‘‘(I) Rural areas. 

14 ‘‘(II) Metropolitan statistical 

15 areas not selected under round 1 or 

16 round 2 with a population of less than 

17 250,000. 

18 ‘‘(III) Areas with a low popu19 lation density within a metropolitan 

20 statistical area that is otherwise se21 lected, as determined for purposes of 

22 paragraph (3)(A). 

23 ‘‘(E) VERIFICATION BY OIG.—The Inspec24 tor General of the Department of Health and 

25 Human Services shall, through post-award 


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1 audit, survey, or otherwise, assess the process 

2 used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

3 Services to conduct competitive bidding and 

4 subsequent pricing determinations under this 

5 section that are the basis for pivotal bid 

6 amounts and single payment amounts for items 

7 and services in competitive bidding areas under 

8 rounds 1 and 2 of the competitive acquisition 

9 programs under this section and may continue 

10 to verify such calculations for subsequent 

11 rounds of such programs. 

12 ‘‘(F) SUPPLIER FEEDBACK ON MISSING FI13 NANCIAL DOCUMENTATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

15 bid where one or more covered documents 

16 in connection with such bid have been sub17 mitted not later than the covered document 

18 review date specified in clause (ii), the Sec19 retary— 

20 ‘‘(I) shall provide, by not later 

21 than 45 days (in the case of the first 

22 round of the competitive acquisition 

23 programs as described in subpara24 graph (B)(i)(I)) or 90 days (in the 

25 case of a subsequent round of such 


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1 programs) after the covered document 

2 review date, for notice to the bidder of 

3 all such documents that are missing 

4 as of the covered document review 

5 date; and 

6 ‘‘(II) may not reject the bid on 

7 the basis that any covered document 

8 is missing or has not been submitted 

9 on a timely basis, if all such missing 

10 documents identified in the notice pro11 vided to the bidder under subclause 

12 (I) are submitted to the Secretary not 

13 later than 10 business days after the 

14 date of such notice. 

15 ‘‘(ii) COVERED DOCUMENT REVIEW

16 DATE.—The covered document review date 

17 specified in this clause with respect to a 

18 competitive acquisition program is the 

19 later of— 

20 ‘‘(I) the date that is 30 days be21 fore the final date specified by the 

22 Secretary for submission of bids 

23 under such program; or 

24 ‘‘(II) the date that is 30 days 

25 after the first date specified by the 


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1 Secretary for submission of bids 

2 under such program. 

3 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATIONS OF PROCESS.— 

4 The process provided under this subpara5 graph— 

6 ‘‘(I) applies only to the timely 

7 submission of covered documents; 

8 ‘‘(II) does not apply to any deter9 mination as to the accuracy or com10 pleteness of covered documents sub11 mitted or whether such documents 

12 meet applicable requirements; 

13 ‘‘(III) shall not prevent the Sec14 retary from rejecting a bid based on 

15 any basis not described in clause 

16 (i)(II); and 

17 ‘‘(IV) shall not be construed as 

18 permitting a bidder to change bidding 

19 amounts or to make other changes in 

20 a bid submission. 

21 ‘‘(iv) COVERED DOCUMENT DE22 FINED.—In this subparagraph, the term 

23 ‘covered document’ means a financial, tax, 

24 or other document required to be sub25 mitted by a bidder as part of an original 


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1 bid submission under a competitive acqui2 sition program in order to meet required 

3 financial standards. Such term does not in4 clude other documents, such as the bid 

5 itself or accreditation documentation.’’; 

6 and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting be8 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘and 

9 excluding certain complex rehabilitative power 

10 wheelchairs recognized by the Secretary as clas11 sified within group 3 or higher (and related ac12 cessories when furnished in connection with 

13 such wheelchairs)’’. 

14 (2) BUDGET NEUTRAL OFFSET.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1834(a)(14) of 

16 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(14)) is amend17 ed— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

19 subparagraphs (H) and (I); 

20 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (J) 

21 as subparagraph (M); and 

22 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

23 (I) the following new subparagraphs: 

24 ‘‘(J) for 2009— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of items and services 

2 furnished in any geographic area, if such 

3 items or services were selected for competi4 tive acquisition in any area under the com5 petitive acquisition program under section 

6 1847(a)(1)(B)(i)(I) before July 1, 2008, 

7 including diabetic supplies but only if fur8 nished through mail order, - 9.5 percent; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of other items and 

11 services, the percentage increase in the 

12 consumer price index for all urban con13 sumers (U.S. urban average) for the 12- 

14 month period ending with June 2008; 

15 ‘‘(K) for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, the 

16 percentage increase in the consumer price index 

17 for all urban consumers (U.S. urban average) 

18 for the 12-month period ending with June of 

19 the previous year; 

20 ‘‘(L) for 2014— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of items and services 

22 described in subparagraph (J)(i) for which 

23 a payment adjustment has not been made 

24 under subsection (a)(1)(F)(ii) in any pre25 vious year, the percentage increase in the 


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1 consumer price index for all urban con2 sumers (U.S. urban average) for the 12- 

3 month period ending with June 2013, plus 

4 2.0 percentage points; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of other items and 

6 services, the percentage increase in the 

7 consumer price index for all urban con8 sumers (U.S. urban average) for the 12- 

9 month period ending with June 2013; 

10 and’’. 

11 (B) CONFORMING TREATMENT FOR CER12 TAIN ITEMS AND SERVICES.—The second sen13 tence of section 1842(s)(1) of such Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 1395u(s)(1)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘except that’’ and all that follows and inserting 

16 the following: ‘‘except that for items and serv17 ices described in paragraph (2)(D)— 

18 ‘‘(A) for 2009 section 1834(a)(14)(J)(i) shall 

19 apply under this paragraph instead of the percent20 age increase otherwise applicable; and 

21 ‘‘(B) for 2014, if subparagraph (A) applied to 

22 the items and services and there has not been a pay23 ment adjustment under subsection (h)(1)(H) for the 

24 items and services for any previous year, the per25 centage increase computed under section 


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1 1834(a)(14)(L)(i) shall apply instead of the percent2 age increase otherwise applicable.’’. 

3 (3) CONFORMING DELAY.—Subsections 

4 (a)(1)(F) and (h)(1)(H) of section 1834 of the So5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m) are each 

6 amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 2009’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘January 1, 2011’’. 

8 (4) CONSIDERATIONS IN APPLICATION.—Sec9 tion 1834 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m) is amend10 ed— 

11 (A) in subsection (a)(1)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (F), by inserting 

13 ‘‘subject to subparagraph (G),’’ before 

14 ‘‘that are included’’; and 

15 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

16 new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(G) USE OF INFORMATION ON COMPETI18 TIVE BID RATES.—The Secretary shall specify 

19 by regulation the methodology to be used in ap20 plying the provisions of subparagraph (F)(ii) 

21 and subsection (h)(1)(H)(ii). In promulgating 

22 such regulation, the Secretary shall consider the 

23 costs of items and services in areas in which 

24 such provisions would be applied compared to 


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1 the payment rates for such items and services 

2 in competitive acquisition areas.’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (h)(1)(H), by inserting 

4 ‘‘subject to subsection (a)(1)(G),’’ before ‘‘that 

5 are included’’. 

6 (b) QUALITY STANDARDS.— 

7 (1) APPLICATION OF ACCREDITATION REQUIRE8 MENT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1834(a)(20) of 

10 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 1395m(a)(20)) is amended— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (E), by inserting 

13 ‘‘including subparagraph (F),’’ after 

14 ‘‘under this paragraph,’’; and 

15 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

16 new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(F) APPLICATION OF ACCREDITATION RE18 QUIREMENT.—In implementing quality stand19 ards under this paragraph— 

20 ‘‘(i) subject to clause (ii), the Sec21 retary shall require suppliers furnishing 

22 items and services described in subpara23 graph (D) on or after October 1, 2009, di24 rectly or as a subcontractor for another en25 tity, to have submitted to the Secretary 


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1 evidence of accreditation by an accredita2 tion organization designated under sub3 paragraph (B) as meeting applicable qual4 ity standards; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in applying such standards and 

6 the accreditation requirement of clause (i) 

7 with respect to eligible professionals (as 

8 defined in section 1848(k)(3)(B)), and in9 cluding such other persons, such as 

10 orthotists and prosthetists, as specified by 

11 the Secretary, furnishing such items and 

12 services— 

13 ‘‘(I) such standards and accredi14 tation requirement shall not apply to 

15 such professionals and persons unless 

16 the Secretary determines that the 

17 standards being applied are designed 

18 specifically to be applied to such pro19 fessionals and persons; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the Secretary may exempt 

21 such professionals and persons from 

22 such standards and requirement if the 

23 Secretary determines that licensing, 

24 accreditation, or other mandatory 

25 quality requirements apply to such 


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1 professionals and persons with respect 

2 to the furnishing of such items and 

3 services.’’. 

4 (B) CONSTRUCTION.—Section 

5 1834(a)(20)(F)(ii) of the Social Security Act, 

6 as added by subparagraph (A), shall not be con7 strued as preventing the Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services from implementing the 

9 first round of competition under section 1847 

10 of such Act on a timely basis. 

11 (2) DISCLOSURE OF SUBCONTRACTORS UNDER

12 COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION PROGRAM.—Section 

13 1847(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–3(b)(3)) 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

15 subparagraph: 

16 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE OF SUBCONTRAC17 TORS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) INITIAL DISCLOSURE.—Not later 

19 than 10 days after the date a supplier en20 ters into a contract with the Secretary 

21 under this section, such supplier shall dis22 close to the Secretary, in a form and man23 ner specified by the Secretary, the infor24 mation on— 


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1 ‘‘(I) each subcontracting relation2 ship that such supplier has in fur3 nishing items and services under the 

4 contract; and 

5 ‘‘(II) whether each such subcon6 tractor meets the requirement of sec7 tion 1834(a)(20)(F)(i), if applicable 

8 to such subcontractor. 

9 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURE.—Not 

10 later than 10 days after such a supplier 

11 subsequently enters into a subcontracting 

12 relationship described in clause (i)(II), 

13 such supplier shall disclose to the Sec14 retary, in such form and manner, the in15 formation described in subclauses (I) and 

16 (II) of clause (i).’’. 

17 (3) COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION OMBUDSMAN.— 

18 Such section is further amended by adding at the 

19 end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(f) COMPETITIVE ACQUISITION OMBUDSMAN.—The 

21 Secretary shall provide for a competitive acquisition om22 budsman within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

23 Services in order to respond to complaints and inquiries 

24 made by suppliers and individuals relating to the applica25 tion of the competitive acquisition program under this secVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:18 Jun 19, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3144.IS S3144

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1 tion. The ombudsman may be within the office of the 

2 Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman appointed under sec3 tion 1808(c). The ombudsman shall submit to Congress 

4 an annual report on the activities under this subsection, 

5 which report shall be coordinated with the report provided 

6 under section 1808(c)(2)(C).’’. 

7 (c) CHANGE IN REPORTS AND DEADLINES.— 

8 (1) GAO REPORT.—Section 302(b)(3) of the 

9 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 

10 Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–173) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘and as amended by 

14 section 2 of the Medicare DMEPOS Com15 petitive Acquisition Reform Act of 2008’’ 

16 after ‘‘as amended by paragraph (1)’’; and 

17 (ii) by inserting before the period at 

18 the end the following: ‘‘and the topics spec19 ified in subparagraph (C)’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘Not 

21 later than January 1, 2009,’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the first date that 

23 payments are made under section 1847 of the 

24 Social Security Act,’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) TOPICS.—The topics specified in this 

4 subparagraph, for the study under subpara5 graph (A) concerning the competitive acquisi6 tion program, are the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) Beneficiary access to items and 

8 services under the program, including the 

9 impact on such access of awarding con10 tracts to bidders that— 

11 ‘‘(I) did not have a physical pres12 ence in an area where they received a 

13 contract; or 

14 ‘‘(II) had no previous experience 

15 providing the product category they 

16 were contracted to provide. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Beneficiary satisfaction with the 

18 program and cost savings to beneficiaries 

19 under the program. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Costs to suppliers of partici21 pating in the program and recommenda22 tions about ways to reduce those costs 

23 without compromising quality standards or 

24 savings to the Medicare program. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) Impact of the program on small 

2 business suppliers. 

3 ‘‘(v) Analysis of the impact on utiliza4 tion of different items and services paid 

5 within the same Healthcare Common Pro6 cedure Coding System (HCPCS) code. 

7 ‘‘(vi) Costs to the Centers for Medi8 care & Medicaid Services, including pay9 ments made to contractors, for admin10 istering the program compared with ad11 ministration of a fee schedule, in compari12 son with the relative savings of the pro13 gram. 

14 ‘‘(vii) Impact on access, Medicare 

15 spending, and beneficiary spending of any 

16 difference in treatment for diabetic testing 

17 supplies depending on how such supplies 

18 are furnished. 

19 ‘‘(viii) Such other topics as the Comp20 troller General determines to be appro21 priate.’’. 

22 (2) DELAY IN OTHER DEADLINES.— 

23 (A) PROGRAM ADVISORY AND OVERSIGHT

24 COMMITTEE.—Section 1847(c)(5) of the Social 

25 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–3(c)(5)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2009’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘December 31, 2011’’. 

3 (B) SECRETARIAL REPORT.—Section 

4 1847(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–3(d)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘July 1, 2009’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘July 1, 2011’’. 

7 (C) IG REPORT.—Section 302(e) of the 

8 Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 

9 Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108– 

10 173) is amended by striking ‘‘July 1, 2009’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘July 1, 2011’’. 

12 (3) EVALUATION OF CERTAIN CODE.—The Sec13 retary of Health and Human Services shall evaluate 

14 the existing Healthcare Common Procedure Coding 

15 System (HCPCS) code for negative pressure wound 

16 therapy to ensure accurate reporting and billing for 

17 items and services under such code. In carrying out 

18 such evaluation, the Secretary shall use the existing 

19 process for the consideration of coding changes and 

20 consider all relevant studies and information fur21 nished pursuant to such process. 

22 (d) OTHER PROVISIONS.— 

23 (1) EXEMPTION FROM COMPETITIVE ACQUISI24 TION FOR CERTAIN OFF-THE-SHELF ORTHOTICS.— 

25 Section 1847(a) of the Social Security Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 1395w–3(a)) is amended by adding at the 

2 end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(7) EXEMPTION FROM COMPETITIVE ACQUISI4 TION.—The programs under this section shall not 

5 apply to the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) CERTAIN OFF-THE-SHELF

7 ORTHOTICS.—Items and services described in 

8 paragraph (2)(C) if furnished— 

9 ‘‘(i) by a physician or other practi10 tioner (as defined by the Secretary) to the 

11 physician’s or practitioner’s own patients 

12 as part of the physician’s or practitioner’s 

13 professional service; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) by a hospital to the hospital’s 

15 own patients during an admission or on 

16 the date of discharge. 

17 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIP18 MENT.—Those items and services described in 

19 paragraph (2)(A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) that are furnished by a hospital 

21 to the hospital’s own patients during an 

22 admission or on the date of discharge; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) to which such programs would 

24 not apply, as specified by the Secretary, if 

25 furnished by a physician to the physician’s 


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1 own patients as part of the physician’s 

2 professional service.’’. 

3 (2) CORRECTION IN FACE-TO-FACE EXAMINA4 TION REQUIREMENT.—Section 1834(a)(1)(E)(ii) of 

5 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(1)(E)(ii)) is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘1861(r)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘1861(r)’’. 

7 (3) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF NATIONAL MAIL8 ORDER COMPETITION FOR DIABETIC TESTING

9 STRIPS.—Section 1847(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 1395w–3(b)) is amended— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraph (10) as 

12 paragraph (11); and 

13 (B) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

14 following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(10) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF COMPETITION

16 FOR DIABETIC TESTING STRIPS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the 

18 competitive acquisition program for diabetic 

19 testing strips conducted after the first round of 

20 the competitive acquisition programs, if an enti21 ty does not demonstrate to the Secretary that 

22 its bid covers types of diabetic testing strip 

23 products that, in the aggregate and taking into 

24 account volume for the different products, cover 

25 50 percent (or such higher percentage as the 


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1 Secretary may specify) of all such types of 

2 products, the Secretary shall reject such bid. 

3 The volume for such types of products may be 

4 determined in accordance with such data (which 

5 may be market based data) as the Secretary 

6 recognizes. 

7 ‘‘(B) STUDY OF TYPES OF TESTING STRIP

8 PRODUCTS.—Before 2011, the Inspector Gen9 eral of the Department of Health and Human 

10 Services shall conduct a study to determine the 

11 types of diabetic testing strip products by vol12 ume that could be used to make determinations 

13 pursuant to subparagraph (A) for the first com14 petition under the competitive acquisition pro15 gram described in such subparagraph and sub16 mit to the Secretary a report on the results of 

17 the study. The Inspector General shall also con18 duct such a study and submit such a report be19 fore the Secretary conducts a subsequent com20 petitive acquisition program described in sub21 paragraph (A).’’. 

22 (4) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sec23 tion 1847(b)(11) of such Act, as redesignated by 

24 paragraph (3), is amended— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘and 

2 the identification of areas under subsection 

3 (a)(1)(D)(iii)’’ after ‘‘(a)(1)(A)’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (D), by inserting 

5 ‘‘and implementation of subsection (a)(1)(D)’’ 

6 after ‘‘(a)(1)(B)’’; 

7 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

8 at the end; 

9 (D) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 

10 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

11 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

12 subparagraph: 

13 ‘‘(G) the implementation of the special rule 

14 described in paragraph (10).’’. 

15 (5) FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—In addi16 tion to funds otherwise available, for purposes of im17 plementing the provisions of, and amendments made 

18 by, this section, other than the amendment made by 

19 subsection (c)(1) and other than section 

20 1847(a)(1)(E) of the Social Security Act, the Sec21 retary of Health and Human Services shall provide 

22 for the transfer from the Federal Supplementary 

23 Medical Insurance Trust Fund established under 

24 section 1841 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 1395t) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:18 Jun 19, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3144.IS S3144

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1 ices Program Management Account of $20,000,000 

2 for fiscal year 2008, and $25,000,000 for each of 

3 fiscal years 2009 through 2012. Amounts trans4 ferred under this paragraph for a fiscal year shall be 

5 available until expended. 

6 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall take effect as of June 30, 2008. 

Æ 


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