On Saturday, March 28, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will make advance payments to hospitals, physicians, DME suppliers and other Medicare-participating providers and suppliers (Part A and Part B) who apply and qualify.
How:
To qualify for the advance payments, the provider or supplier must:
- Apply directly to the applicable Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC);
- Have billed Medicare for claims within 180 days immediately prior to the date of signature on the request form;
- Not be in bankruptcy;
- Not be under active medical review or program integrity investigation; and
- Not have any outstanding delinquent Medicare overpayments.
How much:
Providers and suppliers can request a specific amount, up to 100% of the Medicare payment amount for a three-month period. Inpatient acute care hospitals, children’s hospitals, and certain cancer hospitals can request 100% of the Medicare payment amount for a six-month period. Critical access hospitals (CAH) can request up to 125% of their payment amount for a six-month period.
When:
MACs will start accepting and processing the requests immediately. CMS anticipates that payments will be issued within seven days of a request from a provider/supplier who qualifies.
Repayment:
Inpatient acute care hospitals, children’s hospitals, certain cancer hospitals, and CAHs will have up to one year from the date the accelerated payment to repay the balance. All other Medicare Part A providers and Part B suppliers will have 210 days from the date of the advance payment to repay the balance.
For information on making application to the MAC and additional information, please click here.
If your MAC is Novitas (OK, TX, AR, CO, LA and MS), the payment request form and instruction can be found here.
