TO:  Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Out-of-State Providers

Attention: Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Out-of-State Providers

On March 11, 2014, Governor Robert Bentley signed HB 226 into law (Act 2014-172), which requires all Home Medical Equipment ("HME") Licensees to have a physical location within Alabama that meets the Alabama Board of Home Medical Equipment’s (the “Board”) licensure requirements. In compliance with the Act, the Board approved amendments to its Rules and Regulations on July 8, 2014.

“A provider of home medical equipment services that has a principal place of business outside this state shall maintain at least one physical location within this state, each of which shall be licensed." Ala. Code § 34-14C-4 (1975).  Therefore, an out of state HME provider’s License will expire on August 31, 2014, unless the provider complies with the law prior to the expiration date. 

Alabama Medicaid Durable Medical Equipment ("DME") providers must either have a current Alabama HME License or meet one of the licensure exemptions found in Ala. Code § 34-14C-5 (1975). All DME providers that do not have a current HME License or meet a licensure exemption on September 1, 2014 will be terminated as a Alabama Medicaid provider effective August 31, 2014. More information can be found at the link http://www.homemed.state.al.us/.  

For questions related to the implementation of these new licensure requirements, please contact Paula McCaleb, Executive Director of the Alabama Board of HME @ (334) 215-3474 or Paula@leadership-alliance.org or Vivian Bristow, Medicaid DME Program Manager @ (334) 353-4756 or vivian.bristow@medicaid.alabama.gov