NHIC receives CMS contract to continue Durable Medical Equipment services

HP Enterprise Services today announced that NHIC Corp., a subsidiary of HP (NYSE: HPQ), has been awarded a $72.3 million, five-year contract renewal by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue servicing Durable Medical Equipment (DME) suppliers in 11 northeastern U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Under the new contract, NHIC will support CMS's core mission responsibility to provide timely and accurate Medicare program payments for home medical equipment, prosthetic and orthotic supplies. The original contract, awarded in 2006, supported CMS's initial implementation of Medicare Contracting Reform provisions mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

Since 2006, NHIC has been servicing DME suppliers in Jurisdiction A, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. NHIC's experience, proven performance, ability to collaborate with other Medicare contractors and successful innovations contributed to CMS's choice following a competitive procurement.

Services for this contract include claims processing, medical review, medical policy, appeals processing and customer service. Through its work with CMS, NHIC has introduced significant efficiencies and innovations in service delivery while addressing challenges such as payment accuracy and Medicare Contracting Reform implementation. NHIC will continue to provide these services through March 2016.

"As the Medicare population grows, CMS continues to modernize to manage and deliver transformative technology that will improve Medicare services for beneficiaries and healthcare providers alike," said Dennis Stolkey, senior vice president, U.S. Public Sector, HP Enterprise Services. "HP, through its subsidiary NHIC Corp., will continue to assist CMS by increasing productivity of claims processing, improving customer satisfaction and providing more efficient administration of DME benefits to the Northeast region."