CMS has finalized the next round of Medicare’s Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies Competitive Bidding Program (DMEPOS CBP). Known as Round 2028, it is the broadest expansion of the program to date, covering seven product categories and introducing two entirely new categories for the first time.
What Is the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program?
The DMEPOS CBP was mandated by Congress through the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. Rather than paying a fixed fee schedule, CMS periodically opens a new “round,” suppliers submit bids to furnish specific product categories, and CMS awards a limited number of contracts to the suppliers offering quality items and services at competitive payment rates.
Round 2028 was finalized at the close of 2025, when CMS issued the CY 2026 Home Health and DMEPOS final rule. It is the first round to include ostomy and urological supplies, which had previously been excluded from the program.
What’s Included in Round 2028
CMS has announced the number of contracts it plans to award nationwide in each of the seven product categories that make up Round 2028:
- Class II Continuous Glucose Monitors and Insulin Pumps: 10 contracts
- Hydrophilic Urinary Catheters: 10 contracts
- Off-the-Shelf (OTS) Back Braces: 3 contracts
- OTS Knee Braces: 4 contracts
- OTS Upper Extremity Braces: 5 contracts
- Ostomy Supplies: 6 contracts
- Urological Supplies: 5 contracts
Ostomy Supplies and Urological Supplies are the two categories new to competitive bidding under this round. Contracted suppliers ship product to beneficiaries’ homes nationwide, or, where a contracted supplier has a local storefront, beneficiaries can pick items up there.
The Timeline
CMS has laid out a multi-year rollout for Round 2028, with target dates that may shift as the program develops:
- June 4, 2026: CMS begins its pre-bidding supplier awareness program.
- Summer 2026: CMS announces specific registration and bidding dates, publishes the lead item and number of contracts to be awarded for each product category, and begins its bidder education program.
- Late Fall 2026: Bidder registration opens for suppliers to obtain user IDs and passwords, and the bid window opens.
- Late Summer / Early Fall 2027: CMS awards contracts and announces single payment amounts (SPAs); beneficiary education begins.
- No Later Than January 1, 2028: Round 2028 officially starts, with contracts and single payment amounts in effect. A six-month transition (grace) period also begins, during which contract suppliers can obtain written orders for beneficiaries who were using a non-contracted supplier before the switch.
Ordering continues as it does today until Round 2028 takes effect. The registration, bidding, and contract-award milestones above apply to suppliers preparing to bid, not to beneficiaries or their current ordering process.
Source: CMS DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, dmeposcompetitivebid.cms.gov. Dates listed are CMS target dates and subject to change.
