CMS said during this weeks open door forum that its minimum $50,000 surety bond requirement will be implemented on May 4.

The policy requires that new providers wishing to bill Medicare and current providers that are changing ownership or starting new practices must obtain a bond. The bond will be required for DMEPOS providers on Oct. 2 in order to continue billing Medicare.

Providers that have more than one NPI can obtain a single, multi-site bond, which must include all addresses.

Also providers with adverse actions imposed against them, such as revocation of Medicare billing status, a health care license or accreditation suspension or revocation, or a felony conviction might have to provide a larger surety bond. A statement from AAHomecare says that the National Supplier Clearinghouse stipulates that the additional amount would be an additional $50,000 per action.

More information can be found at www.cms.hhs.gov/medicareprovidersupenroll.