The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and National Government Services (NGS), the Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractor (DME MAC) for jurisdiction B, have started a free and voluntary pilot program aimed at reducing physician and supplier fraud in the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) program.
The pilot project will focus on physicians and DMEPOS suppliers in Marion County, Indiana. All Medicare physicians who order or refer DMEPOS and DMEPOS suppliers will be eligible to receive magnetic stripe cards to “capture information about physician order for DMEPOS that will support the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement,” according to an overview document on the NGS website. The cards are designed to be read using regular credit card terminals within a practitioner’s or supplier’s office.
The goal of the pilot project is to implement a system that protects provider-specific information, such as an National Provider Identifier (NPI), from misuse or identity theft. The data will be used to validate that DMEPOS orders were initiated in a physician’s office and then supplied appropriately by the DMEPOS supplier.
The program will focus on reducing inappropriate payments in the DMEPOS program by tracking the DMEPOS items ordered for and provided to people with Medicare.
The one-year program begins when the card, which is free and will contain no personal information, is received in the mail.
For more information, visit dmepilot.ngsmedicare.com
