Providers still grappling with paying back accelerated and advanced payments (AAPs) from March and April are getting a little more info on the matter. Reminder: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced providers will have until next spring to start paying the funds back, with relaxed repayment protocols (see HCW by AAPC, Vol. XXIX, No. 37). “Palmetto GBA will issue letters to any provider or facility that received an AAP with full details regarding repayment of their accelerated or advanced payment,” the HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor says in a new post on its website. “The letter will include a list of the provider’s accelerated or advance payment(s), including the amount(s), the date(s) that repayment will begin, and the related Accounts Receivable (AR) number(s),” according to the MAC.
“If a provider received accelerated or advance payment(s) in multiple disbursements, each disbursement amount will be listed, along with the corresponding date that repayment for each disbursement will begin,” Palmetto adds. Meanwhile: Don’t get confused if you think you shouldn’t be getting AAP recoupments, but you still are. “There are many reasons why a provider or supplier may not receive payments,” CMS explains in a six-page AAP FAQ set. “Providers and suppliers experiencing this situation are encouraged to contact their MAC for clarification or resolution of repayment issues,” CMS recommends in FAQ #18. The FAQ set is online at www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-advance-accelerated-payment-faqs.pdf.