Medicare Will Pay for Lost or Stolen DME Supplies—Here’s How to Get Reimbursed

Shipping routine supplies by mail is convenient for DME suppliers and customers.

But occasionally a customer claims they didn’t receive their supplies … even though the supplier has a delivery confirmation from the post office or delivery service.

Will Medicare reimburse the supplier for a replacement order?

They will! Packages that go missing after confirmed delivery by third-parties are often stolen, and Medicare will pay for replacement items when the originals are lost, stolen, or irreparably damaged.

Getting Paid to Replace Stolen Items

Medicare requires documentation confirming the theft. The best support is an official police report, but a formal written statement from the customer alleging theft and detailing relevant facts may suffice.

Once the supplier has documentation of the theft, they can provide identical – or nearly identical – items to the Medicare customer. To obtain reimbursement for the replacement items, suppliers should:

1. Append the RA modifier to the claim for replacement items, and
2. Include the narrative “Replacement due to theft.”

Repeated Thefts

The Medicare replacement policy is simple, but contractors will question repeated thefts, especially within a relatively short period of time … say 18-24 months. To avoid customer abuse and Medicare’s suspicion, suppliers should have a policy for dealing with customers claiming frequent losses. A good policy starts with educating customers on the importance of retrieving parcels promptly, and to the extent possible, creating a secure delivery drop for mailed packages. If shipments continue to go missing, suppliers should consider discontinuing delivery to the risky location.

We hope thieves don’t take advantage of Medicare beneficiaries, but when they do, we hope this will help suppliers ensure continued patient access without unfair financial consequences.