Page 15 - HME Business, January/February 2021

ACCREDITATION RENEWAL
Another key 2021 trend that COVID-19 is already impacting is accreditation renewal. Per the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, any provider that wants to bill Medicare for DMEPOS claims must be accredited by an approved accreditation organization. The Act gave DMEPOS suppliers a deadline of 2009 to get accred- ited, and since then then providers must renew every three years, which means 2021 is an accreditation renewal phase.
A key element of the accreditation process is a site survey, which the accrediting organizations are conducting online and will need to conduct in-person in the future when HHS officially declares the public health emergency over. Also, when it comes to policies and procedures review, an emphasis is being placed on infection control.
The net-net is that most providers are renewing their accreditation this year, and that process will get more compli- cated. To read more about this topic, turn to “Game Changes: Accreditation in 2021,” starting on page 8.
PROVIDER SALES
Another key business process that COVID-19 will continue influ- encing in 2021 is their referral and patient sales. Providers had to completely revise how they work with their customers as well as referral sales.
In-person customer service incorporates far more over-the- phone customer service, more social media and online outreach and education, telehealth (for those providers that are using Zoom, etc.), and practices such as curbside pickup. Of course, these are all ways of doing business that all sorts of retail and in-person businesses have had to add to their sales and service.
For referral sales, providers have had to learn how to work in a reality where most hospitals and other facilities-based care providers don’t want outside people anywhere near their prem- ises. That’s been a big obstacle for providers to hurdle.
That said, providers have learned several lessons in that regard during 2020 and can apply them in 2020. Furthermore, the indus- try’s sales experts are helping them to set a selling stage in 2021 that will help them not just survive but thrive. To that end, read “The Essential Stand-Out Sales Approach for 2021,” on page 30, from Ty Bello, CEO of HME sales consulting firm Team@ Work. Also, go to HME-Business.com/webinars to watch “The New Sales Approach for 2021 and Lessons from 2020,” a free, PlayMaker Health-sponsored educational webinar from Bello that goes even deeper into HME sales planning and manage- ment for 2021.
SEQUESTER PAUSE
A key funding issue related to COVID-19 that must get resolved is the extension of the pause on 2 percent Medicare sequester cuts until the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
The 2 percent cut has been in effect since the 2012 Sequestration Transparency Act, which was part of a deal to get out from under the debt ceiling at the time. The CARES Act put a pause on those cuts to help DMEPOS suppliers and other Medicare fee- for-service providers and suppliers during the COVID-19 public health emergency. However, the suspension only impacts claims with dates of service between May 1 and Dec. 31.
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