The US President has placed a moratorium on New DME Providers

Temporary Moratorium on O&P Supplier Enrollment Goes Into Effect Tomorrow

Yesterday, the Trump administration announced a 6-month moratorium on medical supply companies enrolling in the Medicare program.

What You Need to Know

Based on its conclusion that certain DMEPOS suppliers pose a "high risk of fraud, waste, or abuse," the administration is imposing a 6-month enrollment moratorium on the following categories of medical supply companies:

1. medical supply company;

2. medical supply company with orthotics personnel;

3. medical supply company with pedorthic personnel;

4. medical supply company with prosthetics personnel;

5. medical supply company with prosthetic and orthotic personnel;

6. medical supply company with registered pharmacist; and

7. medical supply company with respiratory therapist.

   
   

A medical supply company with orthotic and/or prosthetic personnel means a company with at least one orthotic and/or prosthetic professional "serving in an employment, advisory, contractual, or other role."

The moratorium applies to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.

CMS is deferring to states the decision on whether to extend this moratorium to their Medicaid programs.

The moratorium's effective date is the date of its publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled to be tomorrow, February 27, 2026.

What This Means for You

First, when enrolling in Medicare, you must list what type of supplier you are on the 855s application form. This moratorium applies to any of the 7 types of medical supply companies listed in the preceding section. Other supplier types - for example, "Orthotics Personnel," "Prosthetics Personnel," "Prosthetic and Orthotic Personnel," "Physical Therapist," and "Physician" - are outside the scope of this temporary moratorium.

Second, if you are already enrolled in Medicare as one of the 7 types of medical supply companies listed above, this moratorium does not affect your existing locations. It would only apply to new locations, as every supplier location must be separately and individually enrolled. (Enrolling a new location is considered an initial enrollment.)

Third, if you undergo a non-exempt change in majority ownership within 36 months of either (a) your original enrollment or (b) a previous non-exempt change in majority ownership, you would be subject to the moratorium, as either of these changes require you to reapply for Medicare enrollment. A non-exempt change in majority ownership is defined as "when an individual or organization acquires more than a 50 percent direct ownership interest in a DMEPOS supplier during the 36 months following the DMEPOS supplier's initial enrollment into the Medicare program or the 36 months following the DMEPOS supplier's most recent change in majority ownership (including asset sale, stock transfer, merger, and consolidation)." The only exemptions to this requirement are:

1. A supplier's parent company undergoing an internal restructuring (e.g., merger, consolidation);

2. The current owners remain the same but change the supplier's business structure (e.g., LLC to corporation); or

3. An individual owner of the supplier dies.

Fourth, it is possible that the state(s) in which you operate could choose to extend this moratorium to Medicaid enrollment as well. We recommend that you closely monitor this moving forward at a local level.

Finally, CMS cautioned in its announcement that "any attempt to circumvent the moratorium by enrolling as another DMEPOS supplier type could lead to the supplier being: (1) effectively banned from Medicare for many years; and (2) … subject to referral to the OIG for investigation and possible criminal, civil, or administrative penalties." In other words, if your business is best described as one of the 7 types of medical supply companies listed above but you select another supplier type on the application form to evade the moratorium, that decision comes with significant risks.

To read the 25-page announcement in the Federal Register, click here.