Re-accreditation every year? HME industry says CMS proposal misses mark 

YARMOUTH, Maine – CMS’s proposal to require re-accreditation every year will be an undue burden for home medical equipment (HME) providers – without meaningfully improving program integrity, say respondents to a recent HME Newspoll. 

Ninety-six percent of respondents said they don’t think re-accreditation should be an annual requirement. 

“CMS wants to triple our accreditation costs and ignore the dramatic cost increases we’ve (already) incurred,” wrote Craig Rae of Penrod Medical Equipment in Salisbury, N.C. “Apparently, they haven’t even considered that there is absolutely nothing that an AO will discover on an annual basis that they wouldn’t uncover under the current three-year cadence.” 

Seventy-four percent of respondents said they don’t think the accreditation program needs to be updated or enhanced at all. 

Time is also money 

Respondents said an annual re-accreditation requirement would not only increase costs but also increase administrative burdens. 

“The re-accreditation process consumes a large amount of financial and human resources,” wrote Erin Dolan of Med-Essentials in New Hartford, Conn. “We are stretched thin enough as it is and to spend the time involved in re-accreditation annually would be unsustainable.” 

CMS has the power 

Respondents said instead of leaning so heavily on accreditation, CMS needs to do its part to ensure bad actors aren’t able to enter the industry in the first place.  

“The 855S form is a joke,” wrote Bill Chaudhry of Freedom Medical and Mobility in East Windsor, N.J. “Applicants need to be vetted and screened more diligently, and there needs to be more qualifying requirements, like educational degrees, experience and certifications. Right now, anyone with no background or experience in DME can get a Medicare number, leaving the CMS flood gates wide open for criminal activity.” 

There are no more excuses 

Respondents said CMS needs to listen to industry stakeholders on the right ways to reduce fraud and abuse, like increasing the frequency of unannounced site visits.

“This is an excuse for CMS, as they don’t know how to govern themselves from fraud,” wrote Steve Nyhuis, a former DME provider and industry adviser. “They believe adding more bureaucracy will solve the issues they have created for the past several years.” 

A lot is at stake 

A number of respondents said if CMS implements the annual requirement, they will drop Medicare or leave the industry. 

"If the goal is to eliminate brick-and-mortar stores, (this) will further contribute to their decline,” wrote Bruce Sandler of MAP Medical Supplies in Granada Hills, Calif. “The number of brick-and-mortar stores has been decreasing, and this new burden would negatively affect the remaining few. Ultimately, I believe patients will be the ones who suffer the most, as they will have fewer choices through their insurance.”