On March 28th, CMS announced an expansion of its accelerated and advance payment program for Medicare participating providers and suppliers due to the financial hardships and challenges providers are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS specifically highlights the disruption to the health care industry, including the delay of non-essential surgeries and procedures and the disruption to billing.
Accelerated and advance Medicare payments, which are typically offered in natural disasters, provide emergency funding and addresses cash flow issues based on historical payments when there is a disruption in claims submission and/or claims processing. Due to the pandemic, CMS is expanding the program for all Medicare providers throughout the country during this public health emergency. The payments can be requested by hospitals, doctors, durable medical equipment suppliers and other Medicare Part A and Part B providers and suppliers.
To qualify for these payments, the provider or supplier must:
- Have billed Medicare for claims within 180 days immediately prior to the date of signature on the provider’s/supplier’s request form,
- Not be in bankruptcy,
- Not be under active medical review or program integrity investigation, and
- Not have any outstanding delinquent Medicare over payments.
Medicare will start accepting and processing these requests immediately, and CMS anticipates that the payments will be issued within days of the provider’s request.
Information on the accelerated/advance payment process and how to submit a request can be found here.
If you have questions, please contact ASCRS Director of Government Relations Nancey McCann at nmccann@ascrs.org.