While the new round of Medicare competitive bidding for durable medical equipment has dominated many recent conversations, the home health final rule published Nov. 28 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also contains significant accreditation changes.
In its Dec. 15 final rule webinar, leaders from the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) shared accreditation changes that home medical equipment suppliers should know going forward.
(1) DMEPOS suppliers billing Medicare will need to be accredited at least once every 12 months. The takeaway here is that the timing is not necessarily once a year. “In terms of DME suppliers, we must be accredited at least once every 12 months,” said Kim Brummett, AAHomecare’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs. “So [CMS was] clear to say it’s not annual — so don’t expect [accreditation] to be in April of this year, in April of next year. But at least once every 12 months. This is obviously a big change from our current every three years.”
(2) The first 12-month countdown begins when the supplier’s current accreditation ends. Brummett added that an FAQ document released by CMS last week “did clarify that the 12 months will start at the end of your current accreditation. So just be aware of when you last accreditation was or ends.”
(3) All supplier locations must be surveyed. Brummett said CMS has said “that all locations will be required to be surveyed.” But she added, “We know that for our larger suppliers, there’s a sampling methodology that the accrediting organizations and CMS have allowed for years. But certainly they’re going to say almost all, if not all, locations must be surveyed, and also [accrediting organizations] can show up at any time.”
(4) CMS will continue to allow sampling for large provider businesses. Sampling in the past has meant that large suppliers can have a percentage of locations surveyed. “They did indicate they’re going to allow sampling as it stands today, and that they will engage with stakeholders prior to making a shift in the sampling methodology,” Brummett said. “I think this is great for for those that had more than 25 locations, where sampling really helped. Suppliers should monitor the CMS website for additional information.”
Brummett added that organizations that accredit durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotic and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers will need to reapply to continue providing those services, “which they’ve never had to do since the inception” of the accreditation requirement.
