CMS adds 11 medical supply companies to Preclusion List

WASHINGTON – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has identified and is barring 11 medical supply companies with more than $3.4 billion in suspected fraudulent billing practices in 2025 and 2026 from receiving future Medicare Advantage (MA) Part C and Part D payments.

According to the agency, these 11 durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers:

1. Had submitted no claims prior to 2025
2. Used improper billing practices for their claims
3. Had billed for medical equipment to beneficiaries already deceased
4. Supplied equipment to beneficiaries who never requested or received it

CMS says four of the suppliers had already been revoked from original Medicare and began billing Medicare Advantage plans instead.

“Fraudsters who take advantage of the recently deceased to line their pockets represent a level of indecency that we will not stand for,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “Brazen scams like these have plagued Medicare for decades, but under President Trump’s leadership and working with the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force,  CMS is protecting the Medicare Trust Funds and its beneficiaries by using advanced data analytics to identify fraud networks and stop suspicious payments before the check clears.”

CMS has placed the 11 suppliers on its Preclusion List.

All 11 DMEPOS suppliers billed Medicare for multiple beneficiaries who were deceased. In two cases, suppliers submitted nearly $24 million in claims, payments that CMS stopped by using its original Medicare payment-suspension authority:

• One Florida-based provider submitted approximately $18.4 million in catheter claims over two consecutive days – $6.1 million for 500 beneficiaries on Dec. 15, 2025, followed by $12.3 million for 777 beneficiaries the next day. CMS says it payment-suspension authority prevented those payments from reaching the supplier.
• A Texas-based company submitted approximately $5.5 million in orthotics claims, with investigators interviewing six beneficiaries who said they did not know the ordering providers, had never heard of the company and did not need the orthotics. CMS also identified claims for nine beneficiaries with dates of service after their deaths and determined the supplier was not operational at its reported location.

Additional examples of suspected fraudulent behavior uncovered by CMS include:

• A New Jersey-based firm was placed on the Preclusion List after billing a Medicare Advantage plan for 38 separate encounters in which the beneficiary was already deceased on the reported date of service. The investigation into the supplier also included member complaints where they did not know the providers involved and had never requested or needed the DME equipment provided.
• A Florida-based company suspected of participating in a DME telemarketing scheme involving the oversupply of medical equipment. Several beneficiaries reported they did not receive braces for which the company billed and were not familiar with the supplier.

CMS says it will continue working with HHS-OIG and other program integrity partners to identify suspicious billing, protect beneficiaries, safeguard the Medicare Trust Fund and ensure Medicare dollars support legitimate health care, not fraud.

Related reading

• OIG to CMS: Stronger fraud efforts are needed for DMEPOS.
• CMS suspends more than 100 DME suppliers in fraud crackdown.