CMS Freezes DME Medicare Enrollment for 6 Months

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is placing a six-month national moratorium on Medicare enrollment for durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, it announced Wednesday, Feb. 25. 

The move came in tandem with an announcement that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would defer almost $260 million in quarterly federal Medicaid funding in Minnesota and also issued what it called a “nationwide call to action for Americans to support fraud prevention.” It was expected to go into effect Feb. 27. 

“Together, these steps reflect a coordinated, data-driven strategy to prevent fraud before it occurs, hold bad actors accountable and protect taxpayer dollars,” HHS and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) said, adding that the moratorium will “allow CMS to explore additional safeguards to further mitigate longstanding instances of fraud, waste and abuse perpetrated by certain DME, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies companies (DMEPOS).”

 “The Trump II administration has made it clear that it believes there is too much fraud in the DME industry,” said Jeff Baird, shareholder and health law specialist at Brown and Fortunato. “This is exemplified by (i) the current iteration of competitive bidding that is designed to reduce the number of DME suppliers that bill Medicare and (ii) the recent final rule that imposes restrictions on DME suppliers … particularly from a provider enrollment and accreditation standpoint. And now we have the moratorium. This is just another step CMS is taking to address what it believes is too much fraud in the DME industry.”

No New Licenses for Medical Equipment Providers 

The CMS official announcement says the moratorium includes both initial enrollment and changes in majority ownership and applies to seven types of DME suppliers: 

• Medical supply company
• Medical supply company with orthotics personnel
• Medical supply company with pedorthic personnel
• Medical supply company with prosthetics personnel
• Medical supply company with prosthetic and orthotic personnel
• Medical supply company with registered pharmacist
• Medical supply company with respiratory therapist

A medical supply company “is considered a business whose principal function is to furnish DMEPOS supplies (regardless of supply type) directly to another party,” including via mail order, the CMS document reads. The moratorium appears to exclude pharmacies, hospitals, home health agencies and physician offices that supply DME.

CMS said it would be closely screening all DMEPOS applications submitted during the moratorium to be sure applicants are not medical supply companies, including possible site visits. It also said that if applicants misrepresent themselves as other types of suppliers and are found to have submitted false or misleading information, CMS could bar reenrollment for up to 10 years.

“We thus caution medical supply companies that any attempt to circumvent the moratorium by enrolling as another DMEPOS supplier type could lead to the supplier being: (1) effectively banned from Medicare for many years; and (2) as indicated in § 424.530(a)(4) and on the Form CMS-855S certification statement, subject to referral to the OIG [Office of Inspector General] for investigation and possible criminal, civil or administrative penalties,” the document says.

“We appreciate CMS Administrator (Mehmet) Oz’s demonstrated commitment to preventing criminals from enrolling in the DMEPOS program,” remarked Josh Marx, CEO of Medical Service Company and Chairman of the Board for the American Association for Homecare, said in a statement. “We hope to work with CMS to strengthen enrollment practices without harming patients and communities by mandating a complete halt to new enrollments for existing providers.”
 

Some Exclusions Listed to DME License Moratorium

The moratorium does not apply to: 

• Changes in practice location (except if the location is changing from a location outside the moratorium area to a location inside the moratorium area).
• Changes in provider or supplier information, such as phone number or address.
• Changes in ownership (except changes in ownership of home health agencies that would require an initial enrollment).
• Any application received by the Medicare contractor before the moratorium is imposed. 

CMS said any DME supplier that experiences a non-exempt change in majority ownership within 36 months of its initial enrollment (or within 36 months of its most recent change) must enroll in Medicare as a new supplier, undergo a survey and become newly accredited. This means that the supplier’s new enrollment is an initial enrollment no less than if the supplier had never enrolled in Medicare before. 

The agency said it would leave decisions about Medicaid and CHIP enrollment up to individual states—but also said it encourages each state to implement a DME provider moratorium tailored for the state’s geography and beneficiary population, as appropriate.

A FAQs on the moratorium is available here. 

Data Cited by CMS to Justify Moratorium

CMS said that of the nearly 80,000 DMEPOS suppliers enrolled in Medicare as of October 2025, “medical supply companies” are one of the largest categories with more than 6,000 enrollments, or about 7.5% of all DME suppliers nationwide. It stated that about 600 medical supply companies enroll in Medicare each year and argued that even with the moratorium, there will still be a large pool of existing suppliers that “adequately supports beneficiary needs without compromising access or the quality of care.”

CMS also argued that pharmacies, physicians, hospitals, physical therapists and other supplier types will be able to open new locations and can fill in any gap if need arises. It argued that mail order DME supplies will also help, saying “Mail order DMEPOS services are common today and can help alleviate limitations on medical supply companies not being able to open new locations during the moratorium.” 

In justifying its decision, CMS said the HHS OIG has several DME-related studies expected to come out in 2026 and 2027 covering fraud in DME, audits of the Medicare enrollment screening process and more. 

CMS also called out prior OIG recommendations that it analyze data to spot emerging fraud schemes related to off-the-shelf braces and also cited a 2025 report on overpayment for intermittent urinary catheters.

Other Measures Planned 

CMS also plans to publish information on providers or suppliers whose participation in the Medicare program has been revoked, including their national provider identifier and the reason for the revocation. 

“CMS is done trying to catch fraudsters with their hands in the cookie jar—instead, we’re padlocking the jar and letting them starve,”  Oz said in a release. “This proactive approach will help us crush fraud, protect taxpayer dollars and make sure the vulnerable Americans who depend on our programs get the care they need.”

CMS is also working to develop a possible future rule under CMS’ Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) initiative. It is seeking input from stakeholders, including suppliers, by March 20, 2026.