|
CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: CMS Media Relations CMS
Announces New Repayment Terms for Medicare Loans made to Providers during
COVID-19 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced
amended terms for payments issued under the Accelerated and Advance Payment
(AAP) Program as required by recent action by President Trump and
Congress. This Medicare loan program allows CMS to make advance
payments to providers and are typically used in emergency situations.
Under the Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act repayment will
now begin one year from the issuance date of each provider or supplier’s
accelerated or advance payment. CMS issued $106 billion in payments to
providers and suppliers in order to alleviate the financial burden healthcare
providers faced while experiencing cash flow issues in the early stages of
combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency
(PHE). “In the throes of an unprecedented pandemic, providers and
suppliers on the frontlines needed a lifeline to help keep them afloat,” said
CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “CMS’ advanced payments were loans given
to providers and suppliers to avoid having to close their doors and
potentially causing a disruption in service for seniors. While we are
seeing patients return to hospitals and doctors providing care we are not yet
back to normal,” she added. CMS expanded the AAP Program on March 28, 2020 and gave these
loans to healthcare providers and suppliers in order to combat the financial
burden of the pandemic. CMS successfully paid more than 22,000 Part A
providers, totaling more than $98 billion in accelerated payments. This
included payments to Part A providers for Part B items and services they
furnished. In addition, more than 28,000 Part B suppliers, including
doctors, non-physician practitioners, and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) suppliers,
received advance payments totaling more than $8.5 billion. Providers were required to make payments starting in August of
this year, but with this action, repayment will be delayed until one year
after payment was issued. After that first year, Medicare will
automatically recoup 25 percent of Medicare payments otherwise owed to the
provider or supplier for eleven months. At the end of the eleven-month
period, recoupment will increase to 50 percent for another six months.
If the provider or supplier is unable to repay the total amount of the AAP
during this time-period (a total of 29 months), CMS will issue letters
requiring repayment of any outstanding balance, subject to an interest rate
of four percent. The letter also provides guidance on how to request an Extended
Repayment Schedule (ERS) for providers and suppliers who are experiencing
financial hardships. An ERS is a debt installment payment plan that
allows a provider or supplier to pay debts over the course of three years,
or, up to five years in the case of extreme hardship. Providers and
suppliers are encouraged to contact their Medicare Administrative Contractor
(MAC) for information on how to request an ERS. To allow even more
flexibility in paying back the loans, the $175 billion issued in Provider
Relief funds can be used towards repayment of these Medicare loans. CMS
will be communicating with each provider and supplier in the coming weeks as
to the repayment terms and amounts owed as applicable for any accelerated or
advance payment issued. ### Get CMS
news at cms.gov/newsroom, sign up for CMS news via email and follow CMS on Twitter CMS
Administrator @SeemaCMS and @CMSgov. |
|
To be a Medicare Agent's source of information on topics affecting the agent and their business, and most importantly, their clientele, is the intention of this site. Sourced from various means rooted in the health insurance industry - insurance carriers, governmental agencies, and industry news agencies, this is aimed as a resource of varying viewpoints to spark critical thought and discussion. We welcome your contributions.
Thursday, October 8, 2020
CMS NEWS: CMS Announces New Repayment Terms for Medicare Loans made to Providers during COVID-19
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment