Once the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program becomes effective on January 1, 2011, beneficiaries with Original Medicare who obtain competitively bid items in competitive bidding areas (CBAs) must obtain these items from a contract supplier for Medicare to pay, unless an exception applies. All non-contract suppliers that furnish competitively bid rented durable medical equipment (DME) or oxygen and oxygen equipment to beneficiaries in CBAs must decide if they will elect to become grandfathered suppliers, notify beneficiaries of their grandfathering decisions, and fulfill other requirements.
CMS would like to remind all non-contract suppliers that furnish competitively bid rented DME or oxygen and oxygen equipment to beneficiaries in CBAs of the following upcoming deadlines: 1. A non-contract supplier that elects to become a grandfathered supplier must provide a 30-day written notification to each Medicare beneficiary who resides in a CBA and is currently renting competitively bid oxygen and oxygen equipment or DME from that supplier. These notifications must be sent by Wednesday, November 17, 2010. A non-contract supplier that elects to become a grandfathered supplier must also provide written notification to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of this decision by Wednesday, November 17, 2010. 2. A non-contract supplier that elects not to become a grandfathered supplier is required to pick-up the item it is currently renting to the beneficiary from the beneficiary's home after proper notification. Proper notification includes a 30-day, a 10-day, and a 2-day notice of the supplier's decision not to become a grandfathered supplier to its Medicare beneficiaries who are currently renting competitively bid DME or oxygen and oxygen equipment and who reside in a CBA. The 30-day notification to the beneficiary must be sent by Wednesday, November 17, 2010, and must be in writing. For more information on grandfathering requirements, please see the "DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program Grandfathering Requirements for Non-Contract Suppliers Fact Sheet," which is now available, free of charge, from the Medicare Learning Network(r) at http://www.cms.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/04_Educational_Resources.asp in the "Downloads" section. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November Flu Shot Reminder Each Office Visit is an Opportunity. Medicare patients give many reasons for not getting their annual flu vaccination, but the fact is that there are 36,000 flu-related deaths in the United States each year, on average. More than 90% of these deaths occur in people 65 years of age and older. Please talk with your Medicare patients about the importance of getting their annual flu vaccination. This Medicare-covered preventive service will protect them for the entire flu season. And remember, vaccination is important for health care workers too, who may spread the flu to high risk patients. Don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit the following CMS websites http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Flu_Products.pdf and http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv.
