CMS extends moratoria for newly enrolling ground ambulance suppliers & home health agencies

CMS extends moratoria for newly enrolling ground ambulance suppliers & home health agencies
Patient access uninterrupted as agency continues to target high risk areas

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced it will extend its current enrollment moratoria on new ground ambulances in the Houston and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and new home health agencies in the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, and Miami (please see the full list of extended moratoria counties below).  

CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said the extension is necessary because the significant potential for fraud, waste and abuse continues in these areas.  CMS used this powerful Affordable Care Act tool twice before to fight fraud, safeguard taxpayer dollars and ensure access to care is not interrupted.  Factors that CMS considered in imposing the provider enrollment moratoria include a disproportionate ratio of providers and suppliers relative to beneficiaries, and law enforcement activity in these areas.  

Existing providers and suppliers can continue to deliver and bill for services, but no new provider and supplier applications will be approved in these areas.  The six-month extension of the moratoria in these areas was announced in a notice issued today in the Federal Register.

This latest six-month extension of the existing moratoria is effective beginning Wednesday, July 30; CMS may lift the moratoria earlier or extend it another six months by issuing another notice in the Federal Register.  During the moratoria period, CMS and the affected States will continue to monitor access to care to ensure that Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries are receiving the services they need.

The Federal Register notice can be downloaded at:  https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection\

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TABLE 1: Home Health Agencies and Home Health Agency Sub-units Moratoria Extension Locations