2010-07-07

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working with providers to address concerns about enrollment in the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) – an electronic system used to enroll physicians and eligible professionals into the Medicare program. While the regulation requiring use of PECOS will be effective July 6, 2010, CMS will not implement automatic rejections of claims submitted by providers who have attempted to enroll in PECOS. Until the automatic rejections are operational, providers should not see any change in the processing of submitted claims; they will continue to be reviewed and paid as they have historically been reviewed and paid. In addition, CMS will employ a contingency plan to meet the health-care reform requirement that written orders and certifications are only issued by eligible professionals effective on July 1. While more than 800,000 physicians and other health professionals have enrolled and have approved applications in the PECOS system, some providers have encountered problems. Consequently, ASH has partnered with other physician organizations to request an extension of the July 6 deadline for physician enrollment in the Internet-based PECOS.

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