Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

DME:

Lawmakers Want Clear Mobility Equipment Guidelines

Senators chide inconsistent documentation requirements.

Two U.S. senators want mobility documentation requirements clarified.

In an Aug. 5 letter, Sens. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, both Pennsylvania Republicans, asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide clear documentation instructions for mobility equipment. Providers "regularly encounter inconsistencies within the four DMERC regions on how documentation is interpreted," the letter stated. Durable medical equipment regional carriers also emphasize physician chart notes, which often lack the specificity DMERCs require, the letter noted.

Therefore, "evaluations from other healthcare clinicians or letters of medical necessity from the patient's ordering practitioner should be considered part of the medical record and used by claims processors in the event of an audit," the senators wrote.

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