On March 28, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it had instructed its Medicare Administrative Contractors to hold claims paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the first 10 business days of April (i.e., through April 14, 2014).
CMS indicated that this delay was necessary to prevent implementation of a negative update (i.e., a cut) to the physician fee schedule that was scheduled to take effect January 1, 2014. However, the passage of the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013 delayed the implementation of that payment reduction through March 31, 2014. CMS indicated the most recent delay was intended to give Congress time to pass additional legislation that would further delay these cuts.
While the announcement did not specifically mention a delay in the processing of Medicare ambulance claims, the temporary adjustments for ground ambulance (urban (2%), rural (3%), and the super-rural bonus) are also currently scheduled to expire on March 31, 2014. Therefore, ambulance services should be aware that this delay may also impact the processing of ambulance claims.
Source: American Ambulance Association
