January 31st CMS Deadline to apply for DME Accreditation

Well, I was more optimistic than CMS about the preparation time for accreditation.  They have now announced that you must apply for accreditation by January 31st rather than my April prediction.  Here is the link:

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/Downloads/DMEPOSAccreditationMIPPA-FactSheet.pdf

 This leaves very little leeway for those who have not yet started.

The director of ACHC predicts that there are 30,000 DMEs still to be accredited which means over 2,000 per month for the next year.  Good luck!

It’s September and the Accreditation Clock is Ticking

The official and final, we really mean it, no kidding, cross your heart hope to die, date for DME accreditation is September 30, 2009.  But wait, CMS is saying that there will be an earlier deadline for applications to be filed.  Now, let’s guess when that might be.  How long does it take to prepare for accreditation.  The average estimate is six months.  So I would venture to guess that the CMS deadline for applications will be April. 

I have been guessing that the number of unaccredited DME that will have to get accredited is 20,000; however ACHC was recently quoted in HMEnews as saying it is 30,000.  That means that the accreditation industry must handle somewhere around 2,000 per month for the next twelve months.  This going to be crazy and believe me you don’t want to be in the last group trying desparately to get surveyed.