Citing “some confusion” on the issue of which groups of healthcare professionals are exempt from DMEPOS accreditation requirements, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a clarification last week.
CMS listed the following types of suppliers as exempt from accreditation requirements:
- Suppliers providing drugs and pharmaceuticals only
- Physicians, including dentists
- Audiologists
- Optometrists
- Orthotists
- Prosthetists, including occularists
- Opticians
- Occupational therapists
- Physical therapists
Said the July 30 CMS bulletin, “Exempt suppliers are reminded that accreditation exemptions only extend to the normal scope of services for the supplier specialty. Any products or services provided outside the normal range of services will require accreditation to obtain/maintain Medicare billing privileges.”
CMS added, “If the supplier type is combined with another that requires accreditation/surety bond, they are no longer exempt.”
