HR-8871 — DME Scammer Prevention Act of 2026

YourVoice.Now Summary

Corporate BenefitsTransparency & Accountability

Medicare equipment suppliers would lose paper billing and get 90 days, not a year, to file a claim.

Corporate Benefits

Small suppliers' paper billing option — ends for equipment delivered from 2027

Medicare today has to let small suppliers — those with fewer than 10 staff, in most cases — send claims on paper. For listed equipment that option would end, and a paper claim would be paid nothing.

Time to bill Medicare for equipment — 90 days instead of a year

Suppliers now have one year from the date of service to send in a claim. For listed items they would get 90 days, and a late claim would go unpaid.

Transparency & Accountability

Report on denied Medicare equipment claims — due January 2030

A federal watchdog would count how many of these claims screening software turned down during 2027, and how many were paid in the end. It would also weigh whether that software catches suspicious billing.

More about this bill

If Medicare pays for your wheelchair or oxygen tank, your costs would not change. Your coverage would not change either. The new rules would land on the suppliers who bill Medicare. The stated purpose is to curb fraud in durable medical equipment (DME) — gear like walkers, beds and oxygen tanks. The rules would cover gear on Medicare's Master List, which names items tied to unusual billing. For items delivered on or after January 1, 2027, small suppliers could no longer bill on paper. Suppliers would also get 90 days to send in a claim, down from one year now. Items that already need a doctor visit or advance approval would keep the old window. So would monthly rentals. The rules reach past wheelchairs to braces, artificial limbs and surgical dressings. By January 1, 2030, a federal watchdog would have to tell Congress how well the claim screening software works.

Congressional Summary

DME Scammer Prevention Act of 2026This bill establishes requirements relating to potentially fraudulent billing for certain durable medical equipment under Medicare.Specifically, the bill establishes requirements relating to billing for items that are on the Master List of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies. (The master list includes items that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified as posing certain fiscal vulnerabilities and therefore require additional conditions for payments to be made, such as prior authorization.)The bill requires claims for such items to be filed electronically and within 90 days of when the items were furnished. The Government Accountability Office must report on the technology used by Medicare administrative contractors to identify fraudulent claims with respect to such items.

Legislative Subjects

Computers and information technologyCongressional oversightFraud offenses and financial crimesHealth technology, devices, suppliesMedicarePublic contracts and procurement

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in House
Action Date: 2026-05-19
Date Added: 2026-09-03
Source: Congress.gov →

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