CMS issues disaster guidance for DME

WASHINGTON - Medicare will pay for beneficiary-owned DME that has been damaged or destroyed in circumstances related to a declared emergency like Hurricane Harvey.

Guidance issued today also:

• Establishes that a new physician order, face-to-face requirements, and new medical necessity documentation are not needed for the replacement.
• Still requires a narrative description, explaining why the equipment must be replaced.
• Extends the notification deadline for subcontracting agreements to 30 days.

The announcement comes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, eventually dumping nearly 50 inches of rain in some places, and ahead of Hurricane Irma, which is bearing down on Southern Florida.

CMS has also shared with AAHomecare that the rental cycle will start over for capped rental and oxygen equipment that is replaced due to disaster, according to a bulletin from the association today.