Prior to the implementation of HIGLAS (the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System), Medicare's Multi-Carrier System (MCS) created just one check per sender, National Provider Identifier (NPI), or legacy ID. Each sender / NPI / legacy ID was able to have multiple receivers of the electronic remittance; MCS would use the sender ID submitting each claim to aid in determining to whom the remit should be sent. For each check that was created, MCS also created an electronic remittance advice (ERA), which accurately reported the payment amount for that ERA.
When a MAC transitions to HIGLAS, only one check can be produced per NPI/legacy ID. The old MCS system logic, which took the sender information into account when generating the remit, was not changed when MACs began their transition to HIGLAS; in some instances, the result was a remittance advice that did not contain all of the claims processed in a given cycle or a remittance advice containing payments that did not total to the EFT/check amount. In order to accurately produce electronic remittance advices to match the EFT/check amount, MCS will be changing their logic effective Sun Apr 1, 2012 - and will no longer consider the sender information when creating the ERA files. MACs will allow only one receiver of an electronic remittance per NPI/legacy ID regardless of whether the provider submits their inbound files under different sender IDs. Your respective MAC will be contacting you if you are set up on their files for multiple receivers of the ERA, in which case you will need to select one receiver for your electronic remittance. ________________________________ It's Not too Late to Give and Get the Flu Vaccine. Take advantage of each office visit and protect your patients against the seasonal flu. Medicare will continue to pay for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all Medicare beneficiaries through the entire flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that patients, healthcare workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get the Flu Vaccine-Not the Flu. Remember - The flu vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. CMS has posted the 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine payment limits at http://www.CMS.gov/McrPartBDrugAvgSalesPrice/10_VaccinesPricing.asp. Note that the flu vaccine is NOT a Part D-covered drug. For more information on coverage and billing of the flu vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational provider resources, visit http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp and http://www.cms.gov/immunizations. ________________________________ Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
