Surety Bonds for Suppliers of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced regulations requiring suppliers of certain durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) to post a surety bond as a condition of new or continued Medicare enrollment. The regulation states that beginning May 4, 2009, suppliers seeking to enroll as a new applicant, adding an additional practice location, or changing the ownership of a DMEPOS supplier must submit a $50,000 surety bond to obtain Medicare billing privileges. Existing DMEPOS suppliers must submit to the NSC a $50,000 surety bond for each assigned NPI beginning on October 2, 2009, to maintain Medicare billing privileges.
Suppliers who have certain adverse legal actions imposed against them in the past may be required to post a higher bond amount. The final regulations permit the NSC to require DMEPOS suppliers to obtain a base surety bond of $50,000 and an elevated surety bond of $50,000 for each occurrence of an adverse legal action within ten years preceding enrollment, revalidation or reenrollment in the Medicare program.
A list of sureties from which a bond can be secured is found at the Department of the Treasury’s 'Listing of Certified (Surety Bond) Companies' Web site at
www.fms.treas.gov/c570/c570_a-z.html. Some companies or organizations that supply DMEPOS are exempt from the surety bond requirements. Such exemptions include:
- Certain physician and non-physician practitioners
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- State-licensed orthotic and prosthetic personnel
- Government-owned suppliers