A recent posting outlining what happened to a pedorthic provider has some readers a bit on edge, so I would like to calm those nerves by providing some further clarifications.
Surety Bonding is NOT required for all physicians (defined by Medicare as DPM, MD and DO), orthotists, prosthetists and orthotist prosthetists and physical therapists who provide devices to their own patients. If you are in any of the above categories, Surety Bonding does not apply to you and the entire story can be put to bed and ignored.
Surety Bonding does, however, apply to Pedorthists and all other DME Suppliers as well as those who wish to provide DME to those who are NOT their own patients. Fortunately, most (if not all) pedorthists know about these requirements and keep their Surety Bonding up to date. Most exempt providers wish to stay exempt by only providing DMEPOS to their own patients.
The lack of a Surety Bond for the majority of KevinRoot’s clients should not be worrisome because one can easily check off their exclusion when one initially enrolls or must re-enroll as a Medicare DMEPOS provider.
What can be learned from this story is that one should not entrust the judgement of a single employee to complete the enrollment process. This is especially true if the employee completes DMEPOS enrollment paperwork only once every three to four years. As has been pointed out by many, DMEPOS enrollment is especially unique and different from any another provider enrollment.
A recent encounter with a family member provided an excellent comparison. Would you allow a surgeon to perform a complicated surgery on a loved one, or yourself, if the surgeon rarely performed the required complicated procedure once every three years? Or conversely, would you seek out an expert surgeon who routinely performs this surgery?
A recent meeting of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association provided some further context to this issue. While enrollment (and re-enrollment) can be a cause for some concern, these concerns need not be overwhelming, especially if you have an expert as your advocate. There are many experts who can provide this expertise for your specific situation, with their fees amortized to about a dollar per day for the entire three-year enrollment process. That’s hardly a steep price for securing an expert who will ease your burden and workload and do their best to safeguard your DME income for the future. Essentially one AFO over three years, can recoup the amount you have spent on an expert, securing tens if not hundreds of thousands of future income.
The next few columns will discuss why becoming and or staying a DME provider is worthwhile.
