Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

If your practice is still using paper applications to enroll or update Medicare provider enrollment, know that the old CMS-855I or CMS-855R forms won’t be accepted after Nov. 1.

Background: Though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) prefers that you enroll and update your information electronically through the Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS), some providers continue to use paper forms and snail mail. Previously, physicians and nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) could use either the CMS-855I or CMS-855R to enroll and make corrections. However, CMS combined the two forms into a revamped CMS-855I and discontinued the CMS-855R; plus, the agency stopped taking the old forms on Oct. 31, 2023, reminds Part A/B Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) National Government Services in an Oct. 16 alert.

On top of combining the forms, CMS also added these features, NGS indicates:

• Physician specialties
• PA arrangements under reassignment section
• Telehealth expansion
• Compact licenses

NGS offers enrollment advice, YouTube videos on the subject, and a webinar on Nov. 10 explaining how to fill out the CMS-855I form. Review the news item at >www.ngsmedicare.com/web/ngs/news-article-details?selectedArticleId=9857751&lob=96664&state=97178&region=93623&rgion=93623.