The Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) requirements for O&P reimbursement have been delayed until January 3, 2011. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held an Open Door Forum on February 17 to announce that it will delay denying reimbursement claims, which had been scheduled to begin on April 5. An official update to the change requests 6417 and 6421, which originally announced the program, will be released at an unspecified date in the near future.
Suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) who submit electronic claims will continue to receive warning messages if the prescribing/referring provider is not enrolled in PECOS or if the provider’s name is not listed correctly on the claim. According to MiraVista LLC, CMS encourages DMEPOS providers to continue to encourage their prescribing providers to enroll in PECOS.
MiraVista also stated that the Part B Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will join in this process by sending revalidation letters to all physicians who have not updated their Medicare enrollment within six years, the cutoff time for remaining on the list.
According to CMS, DMEPOS suppliers will also be given the option to enroll in Medicare or update their Medicare information online later in 2010.
