The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced its decision to extend Medicare revalidation efforts until 2015 to allow for a smoother process for providers.
While physicians who enrolled in Medicare prior to March 25, 2011, will
still have to revalidate, CMS intends to streamline the process.
The two-year delay is in response to a letter from the American Medical Association (AMA) to CMS outlining concerns with the revalidation efforts and the increased burden it could cause to physicians. The delay does not apply to those providers who have already received a revalidation notice. They should respond within 60 days as directed in their notice.
Between now and March 2015, Highmark Medicare Services will continue sending revalidation notices. When you receive notification to revalidate, you must:
- Update your enrollment through Medicare’s Provider Enrollment Chain of Ownership System (PECOS) or complete the CMS 855 form
- Sign the certification statement on the application
- Mail your supporting documents and certification statement to Highmark Medicare Services
Failure to respond to the revalidation notice within 60 days may result in your Medicare billing privileges being deactivated. Revalidation is good for five years for providers.
As part of CMS' revalidation efforts, those who are not currently receiving payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT) will be identified and required to submit the CMS 588 EFT form with the provider enrollment revalidation application.
CMS also is planning many improvements to PECOS, including e-signatures and the ability to upload documents electronically to improve the enrollment process for physicians.
The Affordable Care Act established the requirement for all enrolled providers and suppliers to revalidate under new enrollment screening criteria.
For more information about the revalidation process, review the MLN Matters from CMS.