Not Accredited? No Surety Bond? Here’s What CMS Says

BALTIMORE—After months of messages telling HME providers
that they need accreditation and a surety bond (by Oct. 1 and Oct.
2 respectively), CMS is now telling providers who are currently in
the process—or who aren’t going to make those
deadlines—what to do.
 
According to a document dated Aug. 10, here’s what the agency
says providers need to do if they are in the process of being
accredited or obtaining a surety bond:
 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
encourages all DMEPOS suppliers currently in the midst of the
accreditation process to correct all outstanding deficiencies on
your accreditation report so that a site visit or accreditation
decision can be rendered by the Oct. 1, 2009 deadline. CMS also
encourages all DMEPOS suppliers, subject to the bonding
requirements, to obtain a surety bond.  
 
While the DMEPOS Accrediting Organization will notify the National
Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) that you are accredited, you will need
to notify the NSC that you have obtained your surety bond. 
When submitting your DMEPOS surety bond to the NSC, you should
submit sections 1, 2A1, 12, and either 15 (if you are the
authorized official) or 16 (if you are the delegated official) of
the Medicare enrollment application (CMS-855S).  By submitting
the required sections of the CMS-855S, you will help to ensure that
NSC is able to correctly associate your DMEPOS surety bond to your
enrollment record. 
 
And here’s the advice CMS gives providers who are not going
to be accredited or get a bond:
 
If you have made the business decision not to obtain
accreditation or a surety bond if required, you may want to
voluntarily terminate your enrollment with the Medicare program as
a DMEPOS supplier. If you decide to voluntarily terminate your
enrollment and later decide to re-enroll in the Medicare program,
you will only be able to bill for services furnished on or after
the date the NSC issues a DMEPOS supplier number to you conveying
billing privileges.  In most cases, this will result in a
period for which you, as a DMEPOS supplier, cannot bill for
services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries. 
 
You can voluntarily terminate your enrollment in the Medicare
program by completing the sections associated with voluntary
termination on page 4 of the CMS-855S.  You can even notify
the National Supplier Clearinghouse of a future date
termination.  After completing the applicable sections, the
Authorized or Delegated Official should sign, date and mail the
completed termination request to the NSC. 
 
In addition, the document says, “Suppliers who do not plan to
remain enrolled in the Medicare program are strongly encouraged to
notify their customers as soon as possible. This will give your
customers an opportunity to find another DMEPOS
supplier.”
 
For more information on DMEPOS accreditation or surety bonds, go to
www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll.
Frequently Asked Questions on the surety bond requirement can be
found at www.palmettogba.com/nsc.