WATERLOO, IA – With some key caveats, CMS is now requiring all DMEPOS suppliers to renew their accreditation every year. The traditional three-year accreditation cycle is no more, but is the annual re-survey a headache, a blessing, or something in between?
“While I understand that CMS believes that more frequent accreditation surveys will help it address fraud, waste, and abuse, annual accreditation surveys will be costly and resource-intensive for suppliers of all sizes,” laments Brown & Fortunato’s Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq.
Craig Douglas (pictured), CEO and executive director at the Iowa-based Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA), is diplomatic. “It’s going to be a headache and a blessing,” he muses. “It’s additional time, resources, and money given to accreditation, and that’s certainly going to be viewed as a headache. On the flip side, accreditation will be more of a constant—hopefully keeping providers more focused on those things that drive compliance.”
The business equation for HQAA (a Medtrade exhibitor) and other accreditors is decidedly mixed. While they will be more in demand, they too will have to devote more resources to the cause. “We will certainly have to hire additional staff and surveyors,” Douglas confirms. “We’re revamping our internal platform to make ourselves compliant with all of the changes. For providers it’s not going to just flat triple the cost of accreditation, but costs will go up.”
On the positive side, when processes are compliant with today’s rules and regulations, it could end up making a good organization even better. “If you set the cost and the administrative burden stuff aside, I think the new requirement will improve organizations,” Douglas says. “Many of them will be able to better serve their patients in a more compliant manner and I think that’s a good thing.”
Caveats and Misconceptions
For existing suppliers with accreditation issued prior to Jan. 1, 2026, the new annual cycle will not begin until the expiration of their current three-year reaccreditation cycle. Providers accredited on or after Jan 1 must complete their first annual reaccreditation within 12 months. CMS eliminated the 90-day temporary accreditation allowance for new or relocated supplier locations.
Most industry watchers agree with the phase-in element for existing suppliers who took the time and effort to get their accreditation done prior to the start of 2026. While the longer time horizon could theoretically boost the chances for fraud and abuse, it gives many providers time to prepare and avoid what could have been a rushed implementation.
While HQAA has honed a streamlined web-based accreditation process that is fairly intuitive, Douglas points out that accrediting organizations do not have what could be called “full authority” to design their accreditation programs. He explains: “Certain things are handed down from CMS that are absolute must-have features. The how of compliance is more up to us.”
Another misconception is that people think of accreditation as being just a Medicare thing, but in most cases, it is not. “It’s not just Medicare and Medicaid that require accreditation,” Douglas says. “A lot of the private insurance market does as well. Many of those private insurance companies play in the government program space—the Medicare, Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care, and Medicare Advantage spaces. You must have accreditation for most of those insurance companies that deal with those government programs.”
Ultimately, accreditation comes down to preparation. At its best, it can help providers avoid headaches and set them up to capitalize on extremely favorable demographic trends.
“The sheer population numbers that are coming to Medicare age are massive,” Douglas adds. “There should be a lot of optimism around that. There’s not going to be any shortage of demand for DME products and services. The question is: Who is going to deliver that care, and how is it going to be delivered? Are you going to be on the right side of that? Will you be in compliance and prepared to capitalize on that demand?”
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