#dme

Dmote, New York City. Our favourite Aussie expatriate Dmote getting back to the tools & back to the daily grind. @dmoterola

Let's get this out of the way - Fuck. Dr. Oz and this administration. Alright, here we go.

A moratorium, or pause, on enrolling new providers into CMS DME is in effect for 6 months. Whoa there, what does that mean? It means that the department of Medicare and Medicaid are currently NOT admitting new providers or supplies for the following:

Medical Supply Company with Orthotics Personnel,

Medical Supply Company with Pedorthic Personnel,

Medical Supply Company with Prosthetics Personnel,

Medical Supply Company with Prosthetic and Orthotic Personnel,

Medical Supply Company with Registered Pharmacist, and

Medical Supply Company with Respiratory Therapist

Medical Supply Company

DME stands for Durable Medical Equipment and this above list includes providers who prescribe and supply things like wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, prosthetic limbs, and the like. I am not a medical person in this field so this is NOT a comprehensive list of effected durable medical equipment.

Currently enrolled providers are not effected! Individuals can still get Medicaid/Medicare covered durable medical equipment if they go to in-network providers.

This moratorium PRIMARILY effects providers and suppliers. Patients are not directly impacted, though slowing the enrollment process for providers and suppliers can continue gaps in care for patients.

I wanted to post this because sensationalist news I saw via Instagram (not a reliable source, I know) was making it sound like CMS was stopping coverage for DME - which is not the case.

This is still not good, BUT it is not as bad as it was made out to be in some videos. The reasoning for this moratorium provided by CMS - aka Trump appointed Dr. Oz (retch) - is to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse. I don't buy ANY talks from this administration that says it's to "reduce waste, fraud, and abuse" - particularly after Congress said "No" to additional DHS/ICE funding.

There is a pdf Q&A about the moratorium. I found it by searching "CMS DME Moratorium" and that's where I got this information. It is directly from CMS.