Date of Service for Pre-Discharge Delivery of DMEPOS

For DMEPOS, the general rule is that the date of service is equal to the date of delivery. However pre-discharge delivery of items intended for use upon discharge are considered provided on the date of discharge. The following three scenarios demonstrate both the latter rule (when the date of service is the date of discharge) and related exceptions.\

1. If the supplier leaves the item with the beneficiary two days prior to the date of discharge, and if the supplier, as a practical matter, need do nothing further to effect the delivery of the item to the beneficiary's home (because the beneficiary or a caregiver takes it home), then the date of discharge is deemed to be the date of delivery of the item. Such date must be the date of service for purposes of claims submission. (This is not an exception to the general DMEPOS rule that the date of service must be the date of delivery. Rather, it recognizes the supplier's responsibility - per condition five above - to ensure that the item is actually delivered to the beneficiary's home on the date of discharge.) No one may bill for the days prior to the date of discharge.

2. If the supplier fits the item to the beneficiary, or trains the beneficiary in its use while the beneficiary is in the facility, but thereafter removes the item and subsequently delivers it to the beneficiary's home, then the date of service must be the date of actual delivery of the item, provided such date is not earlier than the date of discharge.

3. If the supplier leaves the item at the facility and the beneficiary does not take the item home, or a third party does not send it to the beneficiary's home, or the supplier does not otherwise (re)deliver the item to the beneficiary's home on or before the date of discharge, the date of service must not be earlier than the actual date of delivery of the item, i.e., the actual date the item arrives, by whatever means, at the beneficiary's home.