A series of important deadlines for home medical equipment providers is coming up fast.

A series of important deadlines for home medical equipment
providers is coming up fast. Stay tuned to HomeCare as well for information on
the Round One rebid of competitive bidding, with associated
deadlines still to come from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services.
 
June 1 – Revised Enrollment
Application
. According to CMS, effective June 1, DMEPOS
suppliers submitting applications to Medicare must use the revised
CMS-855S form or the application will be rejected. The revised form
includes a 26th Supplier Standard: “All DMEPOS suppliers must
obtain a surety bond in order to receive and retain a supplier
billing number.” The revised form also includes a section for
reporting surety bond information. For information and a copy of
the new form, check: target="_blank" title="http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CMSFORMS/CMSFORMS/ItemDetail.asp?ItemID=CMS019480">
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CMSFORMS/CMSFORMS/ItemDetail.asp?ItemID=CMS019480

 
Aug. 1 – Red Flags
Rule
. For the second time, the Federal Trade Commission has
delayed enforcement of its new “Red Flags” rules
requiring the implementation of identity theft prevention programs.
The rules had been set for enforcement May 1, but in a last-minute
decision, the commission has pushed its compliance deadline to Aug.
1. Under the rules, HME providers and other affected companies must
develop prevention programs that identify patterns, practices and
activities that are “red flags” for possible identity
theft. For more about the rules, see “Are You
Ready for the Red Flags Rule?”

 
Sept.
30 – Accreditation
. By this date, DMEPOS
providers enrolled in the Medicare program must have submitted an
approved accreditation to the National Supplier Clearinghouse or
billing privileges will be revoked. For complete information, see:
www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll

 
Oct. 2 – Surety
Bond
. In a final rule published Jan. 2, CMS mandated that
existing DMEPOS providers obtain a $50,000 surety bond by Oct. 2.
New providers, those adding locations and those changing ownership
were required to obtain the bond by May 4. View a list of approved
surety bond carriers from the title="Department of Treasury Web site.">Department of Treasury Web
site.