SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE:KCI), a global medical technology company with leadership positions in advanced wound care and therapeutic surfaces, today issued a statement on the recently-released final competitive bidding rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”). The rule establishes Medicare competitive bidding procedures for durable medical equipment used in the home for ten designated metropolitan areas and includes the category of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, including related accessories and supplies (collectively, “NPWT”), in the initial phase of competitive bidding, which is scheduled to take effect in April 2008. The Company estimates that V.A.C.® rentals and sales to Medicare beneficiaries in the ten designated metropolitan areas represented approximately $14 million or 1.7% of KCI’s total U.S. V.A.C.® revenue, or approximately 1% of KCI’s total revenue, in 2006. The competitive bidding rule calls for the addition of 70 other metropolitan areas to the competitive bidding program beginning in April 2009.
