The first round of the Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program went into effect July 1, 2008 in 10 geographic areas for selected categories of products, although legislation has been approved by Congress that would delay the first round of bidding and make other reforms in the bidding process (see related legislative story).   Nevertheless, CMS continues to provide guidance to suppliers, beneficiaries, and referral sources on implementation of the new program.   For instance, CMS has issued new manual provisions with special billing instructions for claims subject to the DMEPOS competitive bidding program.  CMS also has clarified the distinctions between retail and mail order suppliers for purposes of competitive bidding (mail order diabetes supplies, but not retail supplies, are subject to bidding).  Moreover, CMS has updated the Supplier Directory on www.medicare.gov to reflect the names of contract suppliers (although CMS has noted that the database may not yet be complete). For more information, see the CMS web site.