CMS to honor current accreditation cycles 

YARMOUTH, Maine – A new provision summary from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirms a provider’s annual resurvey and reaccreditation cycle will not begin until the expiration of the supplier’s current three-year cycle, if issued prior to Jan. 1, 2026.  

A rule published by CMS on Nov. 28 finalized plans to require resurvey and reaccreditation every year instead of every three years. 

The provision summary provides the following example to illustrate how it will honor current accreditation cycles: 

Suppose a supplier was initially accredited or reaccredited for a three-year period effective June 1, 2023. For purposes of the implementation of our new annual resurvey / reaccreditation requirement – June 1, 2026, is the date: (1) its current accreditation expired; and (2) on which its annual resurvey/reaccreditation cycle begins. Accordingly, the supplier would have to be resurveyed and reaccredited at least once by June 1, 2027, again by June 1, 2028, and so forth. 

For suppliers seeking initial accreditation for the first time on or after the effective date of the final rule, they must be resurveyed and reaccredited annually. 

The provision summary also notes: 

• The elimination of temporary accreditation. Under current 42 CFR § 424.57(c)(23), a DMEPOS accrediting organization (AO) may accredit a new location for an existing DMEPOS supplier for three months after it is operational without requiring a new site visit. The final rule removes this provision. Effective Jan. 1, 2026, all DMEPOS suppliers must be surveyed before being accredited so we can confirm that the location meets the quality standards 
• The change in majority ownership. Under new 42 CFR § 424.551, a DMEPOS supplier undergoing a change in majority ownership within 36 months of initial enrollment or from their last in majority ownership (as that term is defined in § 424.551) must – unless one of § 424.551’s exceptions applies – enroll as a new DMEPOS supplier and be surveyed and accredited. 

The final rule also implements stricter requirements for becoming and remaining a DMEPOS AO, including: 

• Increasing the amount, specificity, and frequency of data that AOs must submit to CMS 
• Outlining several new processes to which DMEPOS AOs must adhere to help ensure greater AO accountability 
• Expanding CMS’s ability to closely monitor and review AOs’ operations 
• Strengthening CMS’s ability to respond to situations where AOs are performing in a substandard manner 
• Preventing DMEPOS AO conflicts of interest 

The agency says it will provide more information on the annual resurvey / reaccreditation requirement in the coming weeks. 

• Related: Accreditation proposal packed with potential burdens. 

• Related: VGM outlined and analyzed CMS's provision summary here.