BALTIMORE--Industry stakeholders awaiting the release of HME supplier quality standards still have no word from CMS.

At an agency Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum Tuesday, Eric Sokol, director of the Power Mobility Coalition, pointed out that CMS had previously said the final quality standards would be out by the end of June, and asked for an indication of when they would be released.

There were no officials at the Open Door to respond, but CMS said that someone from the agency would contact him with the answer. As of Friday, Sokol said he had not heard from CMS.

Others also were left without answers at the forum, which included 431 phone participants.

Ann Howard, director of federal policy for AAHomecare, noted that few public comments on the proposed competitive bidding rule are posted online, and asked if it were possible to view additional comments. The comment period ended June 30.

Her question also was left unanswered during the session.

Several additional items, however, were addressed:

• CMS announced that parental and enteral nutrition pumps will not be subject to the capped rental payment changes for HME items enacted in the Deficit Reduction Act. They are covered under the prosthetic device benefit and not under the home medical equipment benefit, the agency explained.
• CMS provided an update of the home health independence demonstration, mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act to clarify the definition of "homebound." CMS said the demonstration was implemented on Oct. 4, 2004, in Massachusetts, Colorado and Missouri and includes 51 enrolled beneficiaries to date. Twenty-six providers--six from Colorado, four from Massachusetts and 16 from Missouri--have participated in the demonstration, and there have been 178 "unique episodes of care," according to the agency.
• One home health care provider asked if there would be a crosslink between Medicare Unique Physician Identification Numbers and the new National Provider Identifiers. CMS said that was still under development and that a notice would be issued later this year. The agency said it would consider holding a special Open Door Forum on the issue.

The next CMS Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum is scheduled for Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. EDT.

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