DME Resource Center
Fast Facts
- All Medicare Part B suppliers must be accredited by a CMS-approved Deemed Accreditation Organization by September 30, 2009.
RoundI & Round II
- All associated special accreditation deadlines have been cancelled.
In a statement issued April 17, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it is moving forward with implementation of the interim final rule on competitive bidding, which requires a rebid of Round One in 2009. For the time being, the DMEPOS benefit remains unchanged. However, changes will be coming soon. Stay tuned.
CMS's statement follows:
The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA), enacted on July 15, 2008, made limited changes to the competitive bidding program for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS), including a requirement that the Secretary conduct a second competition to select suppliers for Round 1 in 2009. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule with comment period (IFC) on January 16, 2009. The rule incorporates into existing regulations specific statutory requirements contained in MIPPA related to the competitive bidding program.
"The Administration delayed the effective date for the IFC to allow CMS officials the opportunity for further review of the issues of law and policy raised by the rule. Based upon its review and on the need to ensure that CMS is able to meet the statutory deadlines contained in MIPPA, the Administration has concluded that the effective date should not be further delayed. The rule will become effective tomorrow, April 18, 2009. However, there will be no immediate effect on the Medicare DMEPOS benefit and Medicare beneficiaries may continue to use their current DMEPOS suppliers at this time.
"During the comment period, CMS received many suggestions by a range of stakeholders to make further improvements to the competitive bidding program, such as ensuring that CMS’s processes for collecting and evaluating bids are fair and transparent. In the upcoming weeks, CMS will be issuing further guidance on the timeline for and bidding requirements related to the Round 1 rebid. In finalizing these guidelines, CMS will continue to seek input from all affected stakeholders to ensure program implementation consistent with the legislative requirements.
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) with support from Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care, is providing this online resource center to clear the confusion and provide up-to-date, fact-based information on DMEPOS accreditation and competitive bidding.
Resources on this site provide information on and explanation of accreditation and competitive bidding, as well as forms and documentation to begin the accreditation process. By registering for DMe-alerts, you will receive the latest information on accreditation and competitive bidding delivered to your computer desktop, as it becomes available.
Check this site often as NCPA's William Popomaronis, R.Ph., NCPA's vice president, long term and home health care pharmacy services, will be sharing his thoughts, interpretations, and explanations on the latest DME information from CMS and how it will affect community pharmacists through a blog.
Bayer HealthCare, Diabetes Care, has underwritten the costs of this communication. The information expressed in this communication are the views of NCPA. Bayer is not responsible for the accuracy of the information expressed in this communication. Any questions related to DME Accreditation and/or Competitive Bidding for DMEPOS should be directed to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or NCPA.
