CMS Nationwide Six-Month Pause on New Medicare Enrollment for Medical Supply Companies Takes Effect February 27
On February 27, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice in the Federal Register (document CMS-6099-N) imposing a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollment for medical supply companies among durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers, effective on the date of publication.
The moratorium covers all states, territories and the District of Columbia and applies to initial enrollment applications from seven types of medical supply companies: medical supply companies, and those with orthotics personnel, pedorthic personnel, prosthetics personnel, prosthetic and orthotic personnel, a registered pharmacist, or a respiratory therapist; enrollment for new locations of these supplier types is also paused. CMS may extend the moratorium in additional six-month increments after assessing the need and announcing it in the Federal Register. Applications received by a Medicare contractor before the effective date are not affected, and changes of location, enrollment information or ownership are handled separately under the regulations.
CMS imposed the moratorium under section 1866(j)(7) of the Social Security Act and 42 CFR 424.570, after consulting with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice, concluding that this supplier type presents a significant risk of fraud, waste and abuse. The notice cites an inspector general report on off-the-shelf orthotic braces, an audit finding about $35.1 million in improper payments for urinary catheters, and multiple DMEPOS criminal convictions. The pause applies to Medicare only; each state may decide whether a similar moratorium is appropriate for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The moratorium is part of CMS's Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) initiative and was announced on February 25 at the White House by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz as part of a broader crackdown on health care fraud. CMS said it stopped more than $1.5 billion in suspected fraudulent billing in this area last year. Announcing the package, Oz said CMS was done trying to catch fraudsters with their hands in the cookie jar and would instead be "padlocking the jar."
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于美国华盛顿的美国卫生与公众服务部总部休伯特·汉弗莱大楼（CMS 为该部下属机构）。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Hubert H. Humphrey Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in Washington, D.C. (CMS is an agency within the department). Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
