City Medical ‘Not Accredited,’ According to NSC

MIAMI—An Aug. 10 message from Rob Brant, owner of
Miami-based City Medical Services, holds a cautionary tale for HME
providers: “If your accreditation expired since your last
re-enrollment, you’re not accredited.”
 
Brant, who also serves as president of the Accredited Medical
Equipment Providers of America, told members when he called the
National Supplier Clearinghouse to check his accreditation status,
he discovered it was not on file—even though City
Medical “has been Joint Commission-accredited since
2000, was re-surveyed in January 2009 and accreditation is
valid until April 2012.”
 
Brant said AMEPA member Respicare of South Florida—which has
been accredited since 1997—had a similar experience.
Although the company’s accreditation information had
been listed on its last five 855S re-enrollment applications,
the NSC did not have a record of the accreditation.
 
Brant said a representative explained that the NSC did not
document previous accreditation status in its system “since
it is not a mandatory requirement until Sept. 30,
2009.”
 
Cautioned Brant, “If your accreditation expired since your
last re-enrollment or 855S update, your company is not
accredited.”
 
To check accreditation status with the NSC, call
866/238-9652.
 
For information on DMEPOS accreditation, see
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/DMEPOS_DeemedAccreditationOrganizations.asp