Medicare is restarting its “Competitive Bidding Program” (CBP) in January 2028, limiting which Home Medical Equipment (HME) companies can provide ostomy & urological supplies to Medicare beneficiaries.  Under this program, companies bid on how little they’ll accept to provide these products, and Medicare awards a small number of contracts with the lowest bids to serve the entire country. 

While intended to save money, low bids may not cover the full cost of providing quality care and the variety of products to meet one’s medical needs.  These are not one-size-fits-all products, and ostomates and catheter users depend on specific supplies that are specifically chosen for one’s anatomy and unique medical needs.  Losing access to the right products or a knowledgeable supplier could mean skin damage, infections, hospitalizations, and life-threatening conditions.  The new nationwide “Remote Item Delivery” model of CBP would significantly limit end user choice and disrupt access to the personalized support individuals rely on by contracting with only 6 companies for ostomy supplies and five for urological supplies to serve the entire country.

Legislation has been introduced to prevent this from moving forward, and Congress needs to hear from you.

Use the template letter below as written or personalize it with a few sentences about how these products affect your health, daily life, or independence, and what losing access to the right supplies or trusted supplier could mean for you.  Ask them to co-sponsor HR 10787, the Access to Medical Supplies Act, to protect access to care.