2016 Holding of Medicare Claims

On October 30, 2015, the CY 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule was published in the Federal Register. In order to implement corrections to technical errors discovered after publication of the MPFS rule and process claims correctly, Medicare Administrative Contractors will hold claims containing 2016 services paid under the MPFS for up to 14 calendar days, (i.e., Friday, January 1, 2016 through Thursday, January 14, 2016). The hold should have minimal impact on provider cash flow as, under current law, clean electronic claims are not paid sooner than 14 calendar days (29 days for paper claims) after the date of receipt.