CMS Pub. 100-04, ch. 36, § 20.6.3

Under no circumstances may the supplier discontinue services by picking up a medically

necessary item(s) prior to the end of a month for which the supplier is eligible to receive a rental

payment, even if the last day ends after the start date of the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive

Bidding Program. A noncontract supplier may only pick up medically necessary oxygen

equipment or capped rental DME prior to the start of the competitive bidding program or prior to

the end of the month for which the supplier is eligible to receive payment if the beneficiary

relocates his/her permanent residence outside the CBA and outside the normal service area of the

supplier. The pick up by the noncontract supplier and the delivery by the contract supplier of the

equipment should occur on the same day and month as the item rental anniversary date. The

anniversary date is the day of the month on which the item was first delivered to the beneficiary.

For capped rental DME or oxygen and oxygen equipment, the noncontract supplier is responsible

for submitting a claim for any rental period that begins prior to the start of the competitive

bidding program. In all cases, we expect the contract supplier to consult with the noncontract

supplier to obtain the anniversary date. The noncontract supplier should work with the contract

supplier so that there is no break in service or furnishing of medically necessary items. We

expect the contract supplier and the current supplier will work together to make arrangements

suitable to the beneficiary’s needs.

Examples: Using July 1st as the beginning date of the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive

Bidding Program

A. If a beneficiary’s last anniversary date before the beginning of the competitive bidding

program is June 29, the noncontract supplier must submit a claim for the rental month beginning

June 29 and ending July 28th.

The noncontract supplier must not pick up the equipment prior to July 29th. In this case, the

current supplier would pick up its equipment, on July 29th, and the contract supplier would

deliver its equipment on July 29th.

B. If a beneficiary’s anniversary date is July 1st, the beginning date for the competitive bidding

program, the noncontract supplier must not pick up the equipment before July 1st and must not

submit a claim for the July rental period. The contract supplier should deliver the equipment to

the beneficiary on July 1st and must submit a claim for this month.