Latebreakers: CMS sets accreditation deadlines for Part B DMEPOS suppliers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced accreditation deadlines for all Part B durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) providers. In order for any Part B supplier to obtain or retain their Part B enrollment National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) number, he or she must submit his or her approved accreditation with one of the 10 deemed accreditation organizations by or before Sept. 30, 2009. If suppliers are not accredited by that date, the NSC will revoke their billing privileges. Suppliers who are currently in the program need to obtain a National Provider Identifier (NPI) and start using that number in the submission of any claims effective March 1, 2008. All claims will have to have an NPI on the claim form and that can be an NPI only or an NPI in combination with an existing legacy identifier. CMS also announced it is launching an educational teleconference series to educate DMEPOS suppliers on the accreditation process. The first will take place January 22, 1 pm EST. The other conferences will be held in April, July, and September.