Regulatory Committee Scrutinizes Supplier And Quality Standards, Other Issues, USA

Main Category: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 25 Feb 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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On Tuesday, the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) Regulatory Committee met in Arlington, Va. to continue discussions on a lengthy agenda of HME issues including competitive bidding implementation, concerns with the upcoming caps on home oxygen rentals enacted in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, access to the common working file, and recently announced draft revisions to both the DMEPOS supplier standards and quality standards. The committee also developed a regulatory action agenda for the coming months.

Regarding DME supplier standards, CMS recently issued draft revisions to the standards, and AAHomecare believes that many of the CMS additions would have a harmful effect on small providers or the HME industry in general. CMS had clarified in the draft standards that suppliers must maintain business records (e.g., delivery, maintenance, and beneficiary communication records) for seven years after claims have been paid. CMS also explained that the "appropriate site" requirement for each supplier's business location requires suppliers to, among other things, post a permanent, visible sign with its hours of operation; ensure that staff are present at the business location for all hours of operation; notify the NSC in advance of any changes to the posted hours of operation; and meet these requirements even if the site is a "closed door" business (e.g., pharmacy serving only nursing home beneficiaries). CMS also proposed to prohibit a DMEPOS supplier from sharing a practice location with any other Medicare supplier.

The Regulatory Committee will be drafting comments and will also pre-release a list of "problems" with the supplier standards. Comments are due by March 25, 2008. The DMEPOS supplier standards at issue are found in 42 C.F.R. § 424.57(c), and the proposed rule is available here.

The Committee's agenda also included discussions on round one and round two of the competitive bidding program. AAHomecare will continue to work with CMS to address problems as they arise.

Draft DMEPOS quality standards revisions have been posted for a 30-day public comment period by CMS, but comments will only be accepted for highlighted portions of the document. To view the document and the highlighted portions, visit this link. The AAHomecare Regulatory Committee will be drafting and submitting comments, which are due by Tuesday, March 18.

American Association for Homecare

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