On January 10, the Texas Medicaid and Health Partnership provided the following statement in a news release.

“Beginning January 1, 2013, all newly enrolling and re-enrolling Durable Medical Equipment (DME) providers must, as a condition of enrollment into Texas Medicaid, obtain a surety bond that complies with Title 1, Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §352.15.”

The re-enrollment process must be completed by June 28, 2013. Any Medicaid providers who fail to do so will be deactivated from the Medicaid program.

This Medicaid provider surety bond must be in an amount no less than $50,000 for each practice location and must adhere to the requirements listed in proposed Title 1, Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §352.15. Some Medicaid providers are exempted from the requirement.

“(d) An entity operated or administered by a federal, state, local, or tribal government agency is exempt from the requirements of subsection (a) of this section if, during the preceding five years, the entity has not had any uncollected overpayments associated with Medicaid or CHIP.”

These Texas Medicaid bonds will hold the issuing surety liable for uncollected overpayments that occur during the term of the bond, regardless of when the overpayments are discovered.

Click here to read TAC §352.15 in its entirety.

Whether you’re a new or current Medicaid provider in Texas, don’t get caught out of compliance with the new laws of the industry. If you need a surety bond in Texas or any other state, contact SuretyBonds.com by phone at 1 (800) 308-4358 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST to speak with an expert surety specialist. Or, contact SuretyBonds.com online 24/7. Our surety experts help clients fulfill their business licensing requirements so that they can do their jobs to the best of their ability. As a Medicaid provider, you want your clients to know that you respect the rules of the medical field by fulfilling industry regulations, and we want to help you on your way.