CMS bars 11 DMEPOS suppliers from MA after $3.4B in suspected fraud

On September 8, 2026, CMS published a press release stating it has identified and is barring 11 durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers with more than $3.4 billion in suspected fraudulent billing practices in 2025 and 2026 from receiving future Medicare Advantage (MA) Part C and Part D payments. The September 10, 2026 MLN Connects newsletter promoted the same enforcement item under Fraud, Waste & Abuse.

CMS did not name the 11 companies in the release. The agency describes the billing as suspected fraudulent conduct and says the suppliers are being placed on the CMS Preclusion List after a determination that their conduct was detrimental to the best interests of the Medicare program. This page reports what CMS printed. It does not treat those allegations as adjudicated findings of liability.

What CMS says it found across the 11 suppliers

According to the CMS press release, these 11 DMEPOS suppliers:

1. Submitted no claims prior to 2025

2. Used improper billing practices for their claims

3. Billed for medical equipment to beneficiaries already deceased

4. Supplied equipment to beneficiaries who never requested or received it

CMS states that all 11 billed Medicare for multiple deceased beneficiaries. Four of the suppliers, CMS says, had already been revoked from Original Medicare and then began billing Medicare Advantage plans instead.

Working with HHS-OIG, CMS says it is ensuring the suppliers will no longer receive payments for healthcare items, services, or drugs furnished, ordered, or prescribed to Medicare beneficiaries and paid for by MA and Part D sponsors.

Preclusion List bars future MA Part C and Part D payments

The operational hammer here is the Preclusion List, not an FCA settlement announcement. CMS says placement on the list follows a determination that the suppliers' conduct was detrimental to the best interests of the Medicare program, and that the bar covers future MA Part C and Part D payments.

CMS frames the action as one of several program-integrity tools it is using alongside data analytics, payment safeguards, and enrollment authorities. For CMS's own fraud overview, see the agency's Crushing Fraud hub. HHS-OIG also maintains a DME feature page on DME fraud work.

Payment suspensions CMS says it stopped before money went out

CMS describes two Original Medicare payment-suspension examples totaling nearly $24 million in claims that, the agency says, did not reach the suppliers:

Those dollar figures and beneficiary counts are CMS's. Keep them attributed to the press release. The release still does not print company names or NPIs for the 11 suppliers on the Preclusion List action.

Additional suspected patterns CMS described

CMS also printed two more examples of suspected fraudulent behavior:

• A New Jersey-based firm was placed on the Preclusion List after billing a Medicare Advantage plan for 38 separate encounters in which the beneficiary was already deceased on the reported date of service. CMS says the investigation also included member complaints that they did not know the providers involved and had never requested or needed the DME equipment.
• A Florida-based company suspected of participating in a DME telemarketing scheme involving oversupply of medical equipment. Several beneficiaries, CMS says, reported they did not receive braces for which the company billed and were not familiar with the supplier.

Again, those are CMS's characterizations of suspected conduct, not court findings printed in this release.

What this is not

This story is not the October 2026 DMEPOS prior authorization code-list update already live on HCC Buddy. That separate piece covers CMS adding items to the prior authorization list: CMS DMEPOS prior authorization list, October 2026.

It is also not the October 15, 2026 probationary prior authorization (PPA) process for newly enrolled DMEPOS suppliers and certain ownership-change suppliers (already covered in a separate HCC Buddy news piece). PPA is a condition-of-payment workflow for a defined supplier set. The September 8 action is Preclusion List placement and an MA Part C / Part D payment bar after CMS says it identified suspected fraudulent billing.

Do not collapse those three DMEPOS tracks into one desk rule. Preclusion List status, the PA code list, and PPA each hit different enrollment and claims controls.

Where this lands on a coder or billing desk

If you work MA risk adjustment or Part D, the Preclusion List is the enrollment and payment gate for whether a precluded individual or entity can receive payment from an MA or Part D plan for items, services, or drugs furnished, ordered, or prescribed to Medicare beneficiaries. When a DMEPOS claim or referral looks off (unknown supplier, equipment the member never requested, dates of service after death, sudden high-volume catheter or orthotics spikes), escalate to compliance and confirm Preclusion List and NPI status before treating the claim as ordinary.

Look up supplier identities in the NPI Registry lookup when you have a real NPI from your own claim or enrollment file. Use the encoder or code book only for the HCPCS/procedure descriptors on the line, not to invent supplier names CMS did not print. Compare DMEPOS program tracks against your desk notes in Compare tools when you are separating Preclusion List work from prior authorization list work.

CMS says it will continue working with HHS-OIG and other program integrity partners on suspicious billing. Until a court ruling or a defendant's own admissions say otherwise, keep every allegation in this release labeled as CMS's statement of suspected conduct.