Bulletin: April 5, 2010
New Timely Filing Requirements
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the healthcare reform bill, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). One of the provisions that will impact claim submitters this year is a reduction in the maximum time period for filing Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims to one year from the date of service.
The filing limits for claims are now:
- For dates of service on or after January 1, 2010: One calendar year from the date of service
- For dates of service before January 1, 2010: December 31, 2010
Note that the December 31, 2010 limit applies to claims with dates of service between October 1, 2009, through December 31, 2009, which previously had a filing limit of December 31, 2011.
The law permits the Secretary to make exceptions to the one-year filing limit, but as of yet, none have been issued.
See the Timely Filing Requirements for Medicare Fee-For-Service Claims notice from CMS for complete details.