The OIG has released a statutorily-mandated report on the extent of supplier solicitation of physicians under the Round 1 rebid of the Medicare DMEPOS competitive bidding program, which began in nine competitive bidding areas on January 1, 2011.  Under competitive bidding rules, a physician can prescribe a specific brand or mode of delivery (e.g., gaseous or liquid oxygen system) if the physician determines it is needed to avoid an adverse beneficiary medical outcome. In such cases, the contract supplier must furnish the item as prescribed, ask the physician to approve an alternative brand, or help the beneficiary find a contract supplier to furnish the prescribed brand (if a physician does not prescribe a specific brand, the supplier may choose a brand within the HCPCS code). Concerns have been raised that suppliers might have a financial motivation to solicit physicians to change a prescribed brand if the supplier does not carry the brand or have it in stock rather than send the patient to a different supplier, even though it would not result in a different Medicare payment amount. For its report, “Limited Supplier Solicitation of Prescribing Physicians under Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program,” the OIG surveyed a sample of 294 physicians who prescribed competitive-bid items during the first half of 2011. The OIG found that 58% of the physicians did not prescribe brand-specific products, so had no reason to be solicited by suppliers regarding brand changes. Of the physicians that did prescribe a specific brand or mode of delivery, 69% did not receive any requests for brand changes. Only 33 physicians in the sample reported solicitations (22 of which were for diabetes supplies), and they told OIG that supplier reasons for change requests included the supplier’s belief that a change would better meet patient needs, the supplier not carrying the prescribed brand, and patient requests. The OIG also observed that none of the 37,000 Medicare hotline calls related to the competitive bidding program involved concerns about supplier solicitation of physicians regarding brand or mode of delivery.