October 24th, 2011

There have been no developments regarding PECOS for quite a while. Medicare has not released the Final Rule which was expected last spring. They have not announced when they will start rejecting claims submitted by non-PECOS registered providers.

But, just when things seemed about to calm down, CMS has announced that anyone who participates with Medicare and registered before March 25, 2011 WILL NEED TO REGISTER AGAIN! They will be sending letters to 1.5 million health care providers, half of whom are doctors, starting in January telling them they have to re-validate their registration. See the link below. I am not sure how many of our contributors will be affected by this because it seems only participating providers have to re-validate but it is not clear if that is true. It could be everybody. It is important that our members read what is included in the attachment below and be prepared for the implications of the new policy. 

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/08/29/gvl10829.htm 

Paul Freedman

Website: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/08/29/gvl10829.htm