BALTIMORE--The “drop dead” date for mandatory DMEPOS accreditation has been set for Sept. 30, 2009, but last week, CMS announced a Special Open Door Forum to address exemptions to the deadline as outlined in a new subparagraph of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, or MIPPA.
“This subparagraph states that eligible professionals and other persons are exempt from meeting the Sept. 30, 2009, accreditation deadline until CMS determines that the quality standards are specifically designed to apply to such professionals and other persons,” an agency notice said. “MIPPA also states that CMS may exempt such professionals and persons from the quality standards based on their licensing, accreditation or other mandatory quality requirements that may apply.”
The Open Door call will be held Wednesday, Sept. 3, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. To participate, call 800/837-1935 and use Conference ID 61231070.
An audio recording of the call will be posted to the Special Open Door Forum Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/OpenDoorForums/05_ODF_SpecialODF.asp and will be accessible for downloading beginning Sept. 10.
Questions about accreditation were also a point of issue at CMS’ Aug. 13 Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum.
Specifically, questions were raised about accreditation deadlines for providers who service Medicare hospice. According to the final “Conditions of Payment” for Medicare and Medicaid hospices published June 5 in the Federal Register, providers that service hospices must be accredited in order to keep their contracts. The date the new hospice rules take effect is Dec. 2, 2008.
While CMS had no staff available to answer during the call, last week the agency issued the following response:
”If a hospice has a contract with a DME (that has a Medicare supplier number), the hospice should have a letter in their file from the DME stating the DME has applied and is waiting for accreditation by the [Sept. 30, 2009] date.
“If the hospice contracts with a DME that only serves hospice, (therefore no Medicare supplier number), the hospice will need to make sure the same type of letter from the DME is in place in their files. The accrediting bodies are aware that these DMEs serving hospice only will be calling for accreditation.
”If the hospice owns its own DME, then no accreditation is needed.”