Get Accredited and Get a Bond or Get Revoked

BALTIMORE—According to CMS officials, there are rumors
floating around about both accreditation and surety bonds, and what
HME providers can and can’t do if they don’t have
either by the respective Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 deadlines.
 
But agency officials participating in an Open Door Forum last week
said no matter what providers may have heard, the bottom line is
they cannot bill Medicare without both accreditation and the surety
bond in place by those fast-approaching dates.
 
“For any services provided after Oct. 1, you can no longer
bill for those services no matter when you bill for them,”
said CMS’ Sandra Bastinelli, squelching the notion that
providers could hold claims until their accreditation comes
through. “Accreditation is crucial for billing
purposes.”
 
So is a surety bond, Bastinelli said at the June 30 session. And
she warned that providers who choose not to become accredited or
obtain a bond would have their Medicare privileges revoked.
 
On July 6, the agency put the warning in writing with a listserv
message, pointing out that revocation would bar re-enrollment in
the Medicare program for at least a year.
 
“If you have made the decision not to obtain accreditation or
a surety bond when required, you may want to voluntarily terminate
your enrollment in the Medicare program before the implementation
dates,” the notice said. “By voluntarily terminating
your Medicare enrollment, you will preserve your right to re-enroll
in Medicare once you meet the requirements to participate in the
Medicare program. 
 
“If you do not comply with the accreditation and surety bond
requirements and do not submit a voluntary termination, your
Medicare billing privileges will be revoked. A revocation will
bar you from re-enrolling in Medicare for at least one year after
the date of revocation.” 
 
Providers can voluntarily terminate enrollment by completing the
appropriate sections on page 4 of the CMS-855S enrollment
application, the notice advised. The completed form should be sent
to the National Supplier Clearinghouse.
 
As for the surety bond, CMS’ Frank Whelan noted at the Open
Door, “There is a rumor floating around that suppliers with
more than 20 locations need to only obtain a maximum $1 million
bond that will cover all their locations, no matter how many
locations they have.”
 
However, he continued, “There is no truth to this rumor. You
must obtain $50,000 worth of coverage for each location regardless
of number of locations … If a chain has 100 locations, they
must obtain $5 million worth of bond coverage.”
 
For information on DMEPOS accreditation and surety bonds, go to
www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll.