Pecos delayed until January 3, 2011 --> PECOS, Medicare, and Nonpar physicians -- DME plus Labs/Xra...

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Sure, Medicare cuts delayed one month - PECOS delayed until 2011...

 

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/03/08/gvsb0308.htm

 

Medicare PECOS deadline extended again

Doctors now have until the end of the year to ensure that they are current on the Medicare enrollment system and avoid claims denials.

By Silva, amednews staff. Posted March 8, 2010.

CMS had said physicians and group practices -- with few exceptions -- had to be enrolled in PECOS by April 5 if they wanted to continue having their Medicare claims accepted, but that deadline has been extended to Jan. 3, 2011. The agency said its new enrollment system speeds up the application process, reduces paperwork, and helps cut down on fraud and abuse. But the American Medical Association and other physician organizations pushed for more time, estimating that thousands of doctors still need to enroll in PECOS. Many of these doctors might not know that they need to re-enroll because they first signed up for Medicare before 2003, when CMS began using the new system.

How to enroll in PECOS

This is the second time CMS has pushed back the deadline. The agency initially said it would start denying claims from noncompliant physicians on Jan. 1, before extending the effective date to April 5 after physicians raised concerns.

The Feb. 19 announcement from CMS came as a relief to the AMA and other physician organizations. They had been imploring the agency to recognize the constraints the doctor community was under already, including preparing for a 21% cut in Medicare pay and facing uncertainty over the ongoing health system reform debate.

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Locke, MD