Home Health & Hospice Week

Final rule could pack a wallop.

If you offer home medical equipment and haven't applied for accreditation yet, Uncle Sam wants you--to get moving, that is.

Yet again, an official from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a warning that suppliers who aren't yet accredited or well into the process are playing with fire. That in turn sparked speculation from some that the agency may be about to spring a firm--and possibly short--deadline for accreditation.

"Begin the accreditation process as soon as possible," advised the CMS official on March 2.

"[CMS] cannot predict exactly when the competitive bidding rule will be issued," said the spokesperson, adding "suppliers of the designated types of equipment in the competitive bidding areas will have to be accredited in order to contract with Medicare."

Shocker: The final rule could trip up HME suppliers by mandating accreditation by year's end, speculates North Carolina-based consultant Wayne Link. "At this point, no one knows what could happen," Link tells Eli.

The push toward HME supplier accreditation includes physicians who offer HME, notes CMS in its latest caution.