The wait is almost over for mobility and rehab suppliers who have been wondering
when the accreditation deadline would be for providers who want to continue
to bill Medicare.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a special
Open Door Forum on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to announce new accreditation deadlines
and also an “accreditation grace period” for new suppliers.

CMS announced some time ago that all suppliers wishing to bill Medicare Part
B would eventually have to be accredited, but have not yet given an accreditation
deadline except for suppliers participating in the first round of competitive
bidding.

First-round competitive bidding candidates needed to have earned accreditation
or have applied for accreditation prior to submitting bids. To win a bid, suppliers
had to have earned accreditation by Oct. 31, 2007.

In the Dec. 19 Open Door Forum, CMS said it will announce “the deadline
by which all DMEPOS suppliers will need to be accredited,” according to
a CMS listserv bulletin sent out Dec. 12. At the meeting, CMS will also announce
“the deadline by which new suppliers must apply to the National Supplier
Clearinghouse (NSC) for a supplier number in order to qualify for a special
accreditation grace period (and) the deadline by which new DMEPOS suppliers
who qualified for the accreditation grace period will need to be accredited.”

Access to this special Open Door Forum is via conference call only, from 2
p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. To participate, call (800) 837-1935
prior to 2 p.m. EST and use conference ID number 27829970.

An “Encore” recording of the conference call will be available 24
hours a day starting two hours after the end of the live call. To hear the recording,
call (800) 642-1687 and use the conference ID number. The recording expires
after four business days.