Industry awaits DME standards committee
By HME News Staff
Updated Mon May 31, 2004
WASHINGTON - Look for an advisory committee to help CMS develop quality standards for DME to be assembled later this year, possibly by late summer.
Following development of the standards, CMS will incorporate them into a mandatory accreditation program for DME. Members of the standards committee could include providers and beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the Medicare program, say industry watchers.
“We have given them the association's name as a resource, and they have indicated that they would get back in touch with us,” said Seth Johnson, AAHomecare's director of public policy.
The Medicare Modernization Act calls for new standards and for one or more “recognized independent accreditation organizations” to act as gatekeeper. Whether that means every HME supplier must go through the same sort of survey that suppliers endure today is unclear.
CMS wants the standards in place prior to rolling out national competitive bidding in 2007.
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