Medicare Supplier Standards

Below is a summary of the standards Medicare requires of home medical equipment providers. Our company meets or exceeds all of these standards.

1) A supplier must be in compliance with all applicable Federal and State licensure and     regulatory requirements and cannot contract with an individual or entity to provide     licensed services

2) A supplier must provide complete and accurate information on the DMEPOS supplier     application. Any changes to this information must be reported to the National     Supplier Clearinghouse within 30 days

3) An authorized individual (one whose signature is binding) must sign the application     for billing privileges.

4) A supplier must fill orders from its own inventory, or must contract with other companies      for the purchase of items necessary to fill the order. A supplier may not contract with     any entity that is currently excluded from the Medicare program, any State health care     programs, or from any other Federal procurement or non-procurement programs.

5) A supplier must advise beneficiaries that they may rent or purchase inexpensive or     routinely purchased durable medical equipment, and of the purchase option for capped     rental equipment.

6) A supplier must notify beneficiaries of warranty coverage and honor all warranties     under applicable State law, and repair or replace free of charge Medicare covered     items that are under warranty.

7) A supplier must maintain a physical facility on an appropriate site. This standard     requires that the location is accessible to the public and staffed during posted hours     of business. The location must be at least 200 square feet and contain space for     storing records.

8) A supplier must permit CMS, or its agents to conduct on-site inspections to ascertain     the supplier's compliance with these standards. The supplier location must be     accessible to beneficiaries during reasonable business hours, and must maintain a     visible sign and posted hours of operation.

9) A supplier must maintain a primary business telephone listed under the name of the     business in a local directory or a toll free number available through directory     assistance. The exclusive use of a beeper, answering machine, answering service or     cell phone during posted business hours is prohibited.

10) A supplier must have comprehensive liability insurance in the amount of at least      $300,000 that covers both the supplier's place of business and all customers and      employees of the supplier. If the supplier manufactures its own items, this insurance      must also cover product liability and completed operations.

11) A supplier must agree not to initiate telephone contact with beneficiaries, with a       few exceptions allowed. This standard prohibits suppliers from contacting a Medicare       beneficiary based on a physician's oral order unless an exception applies.

12) A supplier is responsible for delivery and must instruct beneficiaries on use of       Medicare covered items, and maintain proof of delivery.

13) A supplier must answer questions and respond to complaints of beneficiaries, and       maintain documentation of such contacts.

14) A supplier must maintain and replace at no charge or repair directly, or through a       service contract with another company, Medicare-covered items it has rented to       beneficiaries.

15) A supplier must accept returns of substandard (less than full quality for the particular       item) or unsuitable items (inappropriate for the beneficiary at the time it was fitted and       rented or sold) from beneficiaries.

16) A supplier must disclose these supplier standards to each beneficiary to whom it       supplies a Medicare-covered item.

17) A supplier must disclose to the government any person having ownership, financial,       or control interest in the supplier.

18) A supplier must not convey or reassign a supplier number; i.e., the supplier may not       sell or allow another entity to use its Medicare billing number.

19) A supplier must have a complaint resolution protocol established to address       beneficiary complaints that relate to these standards. A record of these complaints       must be maintained at the physical facility.

20) Complaint records must include: the name, address, telephone number and health       insurance claim number of the beneficiary, a summary of the complaint, and any       actions taken to resolve it.

21) A supplier must agree to furnish CMS any information required by the Medicare       statute and implementing regulations

22) All suppliers must be accredited by a CMS-approved accreditation organization in       order to receive and retain a supplier billing number. The accreditation must indicate       the specific products and services, for which the supplier is accredited in order for       the supplier to receive payment of those specific products and services (except for       certain exempt pharmaceuticals). Implementation Date - October 1, 2009

23) All suppliers must notify their accreditation organization when a new DMEPOS location       is opened.

24) All supplier locations, whether owned or subcontracted, must meet the DMEPOS       quality standards and be separately accredited in order to bill Medicare.

25) All suppliers must disclose upon enrollment all products and services, including the       addition of new product lines for which they are seeking accreditation.

26) Must meet the surety bond requirements specified in 42 C.F.R. 424.57(c).       Implementation date- May 4, 2009

27) A supplier must obtain oxygen from a state- licensed oxygen supplier.

28) A supplier must maintain ordering and referring documentation consistent with       provisions found in 42 C.F.R. 424.516(f).

29) DMEPOS suppliers are prohibited from sharing a practice location with certain other       Medicare providers and suppliers.

30) DMEPOS suppliers must remain open to the public for a minimum of 30 hours per       week with certain exceptions.