December 23
,
2011
by: ASRM Office of Public Affairs
Published in ASRM BULLETIN Volume 13, Number 36
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked that we share the following information with ASRM members:
“The negative update under current law for the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is scheduled to take effect on Sun., Jan. 1, 2012, seven business days from today. Consequently, as on numerous occasions in the past, CMS will instruct its Medicare claims administration contractors to hold claims containing 2012 services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the first 10 business days of January 2012 (i.e., Sun., Jan. 1 through Tue., Jan. 17). The hold should have minimal impact on provider cash flow because, under current law, clean electronic claims are not paid sooner than 14 calendar days (29 days for paper claims) after the date of receipt.
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule claims for services rendered on or before Sat., Dec. 31 are unaffected by the 2012 claims hold and will be processed and paid under normal procedures and time frames.
The Administration is disappointed that Congress has failed to pass a solution to eliminate the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula-driven cuts, and has put payments for health care for Medicare beneficiaries at risk. We continue to urge Congress to take action to ensure these cuts do not take effect.
CMS will notify you on or before Wed., Jan. 11, 2012, with more information about the status of Congressional action to avert the negative update and next steps regarding the claims hold.”
The ASRM Bulletin is published by ASRM's Office of Public Affairs to inform Society members of important recent developments. Republication or any other use of the contents of the Bulletin without permission is prohibited. To request permission to quote or excerpt material from the Bulletin, contact Sean Tipton at stipton@asrm-dc.org.