Under a January 2009 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rule, durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers must obtain and maintain a surety bond in an amount of at least $50,000 in order to enroll in and to remain enrolled in the Medicare program. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report in September 2011 observing that CMS had not recovered any overpayments through surety bonds to date nor finalized procedures for recovering overpayments to DMEPOS suppliers through surety bonds. On January 20, 2012, CMS updated the Program Integrity Manual (PIM) to establish detailed procedures for making a claim against a DMEPOS surety bond in the event of an unpaid claim, civil monetary penalty, or assessment imposed by CMS or the OIG. The effective date of the policy is February 21, 2012.
The PIM update can be accessed via the CMS website.
