8-11-08
AOTA Advocates to Exempt OTs from DMEPOS Accreditation Requirements
AOTA, together with a coalition of similarly affected provider organizations, requested in an official letter to the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) that Medicare exempt physicians and licensed health care professionals from durable medical equipment, orthotics, prosthetics, and supplies (DMEPOS) accreditation requirements in the future due to the licensing, accreditation, and other mandatory requirements already satisfied by these practitioners. Physicians and licensed health care professionals are viewed as “suppliers” because they provide DMEPOS integral to their patients’ ongoing care. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) was enacted July 15, 2008,with several provisions retroactively effective on June 30, 2008. These provisions affect the administration of Medicare’s DMEPOS benefit. Coalition organizations believe the intent of MIPPA was to exempt suppliers such as occupational therapists providing orthotics as part of ongoing patient care, or at the very least suspend current DMEPOS accreditation requirements pending a review of DMEPOS quality standards. As a result of the letter, CMS invited Coalition organizations for a meeting on August 27, 2008. Stay tuned to the Reimbursement page of the AOTA Web site for the outcome of this meeting and future updates on DMEPOS accreditation.
