The 2026 DMEPOS/Home Health Final Rule was published in the Federal Register yesterday, November 28th.
AOPA is still reviewing the rule and will be providing additional details as well as what it means for the O&P profession, you, your business, and your patients but wanted to get some initial information as well as letting you know we are reviewing the rule out to you. Some of relevant the finalized provisions include:
- Requiring DMEPOS suppliers to be surveyed and re-accredited every year (as opposed to the current 3-year cycle).
- Requiring Accrediting Organizations (AO) to furnish more detailed information to CMS when applying or reapplying for approval to become or remain a DMEPOS AO.
- Granting and withdrawing exemptions from mandatory prior authorization requirements for certain DMEPOS suppliers.
- Finalizing numerous policies to implement future rounds of Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding.
A link to the text is available here and here is a link to the CMS press release/fact sheet.
We will be back in touch with additional details by Tuesday, but if you have any questions at this time, please contact, Ashlie White at awhite@AOPAnet.org or Joe McTernan at jmcternan@AOPAnet.org.