M&A: What will be impact of bid changes?

YARMOUTH, Maine – It’s still early, but CMS’s proposed changes to the competitive bidding program could renew M&A activity, analysts say.

In the short term, the agency wants to implement an any willing provider provision when the current bid contracts expire, allowing any Medicare-enrolled provider to serve beneficiaries while it overhauls the program.

“Now that you don’t have these handcuffs on, you can go out and grow organically or through acquisitions,” said Brad Smith, managing director and partner at Vertess. “That will increase market competition and drive more demand.”