Providers are reminded to comply with the longstanding Medicare reasonable cost principles when reporting allowable healthcare-related taxes (commonly referred to as provider taxes) on their Medicare cost reports. Use the reasonable cost principles set forth in the Medicare statute, regulations and CMS Pub. 15-1 Provider Reimbursement Manual (PRM-1), when determining how much, if any, of a provider tax is an allowable Medicare cost.
Although a particular provider tax may be an allowable Medicare cost, when payments associated with the assessed tax are made to the provider, Medicare will recognize only the net tax expense incurred by the provider. The net tax expense consists of taxes deemed reasonable, that have been actually incurred and paid by a provider, reduced by payments the provider received that are associated with the tax. Pursuant to 42 CFR ยงยง413.20, 413.24 and the PRM, providers are required to maintain financial records and statistical data for proper determination of costs payable under the program. Should the provider be unable to produce documentation to support the net tax expense incurred, contractors must disallow the entire tax claimed on the provider's Medicare cost report. ________________________________ CMS.gov Website Upgrade: Please take note that CMS is in the process of making upgrades to the www.CMS.gov<http://www.CMS.gov> website. If you encounter problems accessing information while on the site, please refresh the page or check back later. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience. ________________________________ 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.
