The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized plans to revive competitive bidding when it released the 2026 final payment rule for the home health industry on Nov. 28.
But that’s not the only major development that CMS is bringing to the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) landscape.
As part of the agency’s “longstanding and ongoing efforts” to address fraud, waste and abuse, CMS will now require yearly accreditation for DMEPOS suppliers. Currently, DMEPOS suppliers are resurveyed and reaccredited every three years in order to bill Medicare.
“The purpose of accreditation is to confirm that the supplier meets the DMEPOS quality standards,” CMS noted in a fact sheet on the 2026 final home health payment rule. “However, the CMS DMEPOS accreditation regulations have not been updated since their original promulgation in 2006, and we believe that program integrity vulnerabilities have risen substantially in the DMEPOS accreditation program over the years.”
CMS is cracking down on accreditation largely because of two main concerns.
Officials believe that some accrediting organizations are accrediting DMEPOS suppliers that do not meet the DMEPOS quality standards.
Additionally, according to CMS, DMEPOS suppliers are falling out of compliance with the quality standards after becoming accredited – sometimes for long periods of time.
“As a result, we are concerned about beneficiaries’ health and safety as well as the many millions of Medicare dollars that may have been paid to noncompliant suppliers since 2006,” CMS emphasized.
Remaining an accrediting organization will also become more rigorous.
CMS is finalizing plans to increase the amount, specificity and frequency of data that accrediting organizations submit to the agency. The 2026 final home health payment rule also expands CMS’ ability to “closely monitor and review” accrediting bodies’ operations while giving the agency more authority for going after “poorly performing” accrediting organizations.
“We believe that these and other DMEPOS accreditation provisions will help protect Medicare beneficiaries and the taxpayers from unqualified DMEPOS suppliers,” CMS continued.
This is a developing story. HME Business will continue to cover changes to competitive bidding and accreditation.
