Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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.