Starting today, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will put a hold on payment for all Medicare claims through September 30.
CMS said the payment delays are mandated by section 5203 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. No interest will be accrued and no late penalties will be paid to an entity or individual by reason of this one-time hold on payments, according to CMS.
All claims held during this time will be paid on October 2. CMS warned that contractors handling large volumes of paper checks may have some difficulty putting all checks in the mail in a single day; therefore, delivery of checks to providers may take a few extra days.
The nine-day hold policy only applies to claims subject to payment. It does not apply to full denials, no-pay claims, and other nonclaim payments such as periodic interim payments, home-health requests for anticipated payments, and cost-report settlements, CMS said.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
September 22, 2006
Related Reading
CMS officially ends plan for 2007 payment cut, August 25, 2006
Radiology reimbursement faces major changes, August 21, 2006
Reassignment rule proposal offers mixed bag for imaging, August 18, 2006
CMS scales back contiguous body part cut, modifies outpatient cap, August 9, 2006
DRA cuts affect more than imaging providers, August 2, 2006
Copyright © 2006 AuntMinnie.com
