MEDICARE HAD PUT A FREEZE ON PAYMENTS EXPECTING CONGRESSIONAL ACTION TO DELAY CUT IN PHYSICIAN REIMBURSEMENTS
 

Washington, Jun 22, 2010 -

“Millions of Floridians rely on Medicare for their health needs and it is imperative that physicians participating in Medicare receive their payments to keep their practices open,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Sixth).  “I am pleased that I succeeded in ensuring that the Medicare contractor holding these payments for Florida’s physicians is following the directive from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to make the payments.”

On May 27, 2010, CMS initially instructed contractors to hold claims for services paid under Medicare for the first 10 business days of June.  On June 14, CMS extended this hold for an additional three business days, through June 17, 2010. This hold only affected Medicare claims after June 1, 2010.  On June 18^th, CMS directed contractors to begin payments, but the Medicare contractor for all of Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not follow this directive.

Added Stearns, “I had my staff contact CMS to let them know that the Florida contractor was not making the payments as directed, and today CMS informed the contractor that it must comply in processing the payments.  The contractor today has started processing these Medicare payments to physicians.”