What Do These Terms Mean?
Commonly owned suppliers are two or more durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers where at least one or more of them has an ownership interest totaling at least five percent in the other(s). Ownership interest is defined as the possession of equity in the capital, stock, or profits of another supplier.
Commonly controlled suppliers are two or more suppliers where at least one of a supplier’s owners is also an officer, director, or partner in another supplier.
These definitions are based on 42 CFR § 414.412(d)(1).
Bidding Rules for Commonly Owned or Controlled Suppliers
Commonly owned or commonly controlled suppliers cannot compete against each other when submitting bids in the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program (CBP).
When you must bid together: Commonly owned or controlled suppliers must submit a single bid to furnish a product category in a competitive bidding area (CBA) (i.e., a competition). If commonly owned or commonly controlled suppliers are bidding in the same Round 2028 competition, they must submit a single, combined bid. Commonly owned or controlled suppliers submitting separate bids in the same product category within the remote item delivery CBA will result in disqualification and none of those suppliers will be awarded a contract.
When you may bid separately: Commonly owned or commonly controlled suppliers can submit separate Round 2028 bids as long as they are not bidding for the same Round 2028 product category. In these situations, suppliers have the option to register with more than one Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN) and submit separate bids.
Listing Locations on a Bid
When submitting a bid, you must list all commonly owned or controlled locations (identified by PTAN) on Form A of your bid that would furnish any items in the same competition for which the suppliers are submitting a bid. If a contract is awarded to commonly owned or commonly controlled suppliers, all suppliers who have a location(s) listed on Form A will be recognized as contract suppliers for that competition, as long as they meet all other bidder eligibility requirements.