CMS Holds Webinars On New Electronic Conditional Payment Enhancement

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) hosted webinars discussing the new electronic payment functionality that is coming next month to the Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Portal (“MSPRP”) and the Commercial Repayment Center Portal (“CRCP”). Previously, payment of conditional demands had to be handled outside of these portals by mailing payment to CMS. As of April 1, 2019, a new feature will allow users to make conditional payments directly to CMS through the MSPRP and CRCP portals.

The details relating to the new electronic payment enhancement are summarized below:

• The portals will interface with Pay.gov, which is a free and secure payment platform run by the Department of Treasury.
• Payment through Pay.gov can be made from a checking or savings account, a debit card, or a PayPal account that is linked to a bank account.
• Payment by credit card will not be permitted.
• Payment from a debit card cannot exceed $24,999, and payment from a PayPal account cannot exceed $10,000.
• Electronic payment can only be made after a conditional payment demand has been issued.
• Partial payment of a conditional payment amount is permitted, but interest will continue to accrue on any unpaid balance.
• Payment by mailing a check to CMS will continue to be acceptable.
• CMS will continue to issue any refunds by check through the mail.

The convenience of making and tracking conditional lien payments electronically is another welcomed enhancement to both the MSPRP and CRCP portals. This is a big step towards allowing authorized users to manage and resolve conditional payment claims without having to call or send mail to CMS. For your reference, we have included links to the March 13, 2019 MSPRP webinar and the March 14, 2019 CRCP webinar.

The Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote Medicare Compliance Group is available to your organization with all aspects of MSP compliance, including the resolution of Medicare conditional payment issues. If you have any questions regarding the new electronic payment feature or any other conditional lien inquiries, please feel free to contact us.

Michael D. Bergonzi 412-392-5451 mbergonzi@dmclaw.com

Nathan J. Gruz 412-392-5582 ngruz@dmclaw.com