Why did the CMS eliminate the certificate of medical necessity?
The CMS determined that the certificate of medical necessity was not as effective as it was originally designed to be. The new requirement of submitting medical record copies as confirmation of medical necessity means physicians won’t have to complete supplementary paperwork. The CMS also hopes that eliminating the certificate of medical necessity submission requirement—and implementing both the face-to-face exam and documentation submission requirements—will reduce fraudulent billing by DME suppliers. The new regulations prohibit suppliers from delivering power mobility devices to beneficiaries without receipt of a written prescription and supporting medical record documentation. Q: What medical record information should be submitted to the DME supplier? A: Physicians and other treating practitioners should submit all pertinent medical record information that clearly supports the medical necessity for a power mobility device. According to the CMS, the progress note recorded during the
Related Questions
- In a post-payment audit, is an original physicians signature still required on the Certificate of Medical Necessity (CMN) or will a faxed CMN be accepted?
- Does TriWest require Durable Medical Equipment (DME) providers to submit a certificate of medical necessity (CMN)?
- How does a supplier handle an electronically transmitted Certificate of Medical Necessity (CMN) rejection?
