PECOS NPI Updates Complete, Rejections Expected to Decline
Posted 01-18-2010 at 12:49 PM by AndreaStark
By: Andrea Stark, DME Consultant and Reimbursement Specialist - MiraVista, LLC
Finally! There’s good news for providers worried about the number of PECOS warning messages on their GenResponse Reports. In a statement released today, CMS announced that they have completed a systematic update of the PECOS system, in which NPIs have been added to the enrollment records of all physicians / non-physician practitioners.
Many physicians were added to PECOS prior to May 2008, when the NPI became a mandatory identifier. Because the new claim edits look for a physician’s NPI first, these incomplete records have been firing warning messages identical to the problem physicians who had no PECOS record at all. Until now, providers had no way of telling whether a flagged physician just needed to update their information or go through the entire PECOS enrollment process, based on the warnings alone.
Now that the NPI update is complete, suppliers should see a definite decrease in the number of C200, C201 and C202 warning messages on their GenReports. However, this does not negate the need for action. Unless there is an uncorrected spelling or NPI error in your billing software, these physicians must be educated on the PECOS edits and complete enrollment prior to April 5, 2010, or your claims will result in rejections.
CMS has also promised to release an internet-based tool that will allow providers to scrub a physician’s NPI against those listed in the PECOS database. The tool will be made available prior to the start of rejections (currently scheduled for April 5, 2010); however no specific release date has been provided.
Finally! There’s good news for providers worried about the number of PECOS warning messages on their GenResponse Reports. In a statement released today, CMS announced that they have completed a systematic update of the PECOS system, in which NPIs have been added to the enrollment records of all physicians / non-physician practitioners.
Many physicians were added to PECOS prior to May 2008, when the NPI became a mandatory identifier. Because the new claim edits look for a physician’s NPI first, these incomplete records have been firing warning messages identical to the problem physicians who had no PECOS record at all. Until now, providers had no way of telling whether a flagged physician just needed to update their information or go through the entire PECOS enrollment process, based on the warnings alone.
Now that the NPI update is complete, suppliers should see a definite decrease in the number of C200, C201 and C202 warning messages on their GenReports. However, this does not negate the need for action. Unless there is an uncorrected spelling or NPI error in your billing software, these physicians must be educated on the PECOS edits and complete enrollment prior to April 5, 2010, or your claims will result in rejections.
CMS has also promised to release an internet-based tool that will allow providers to scrub a physician’s NPI against those listed in the PECOS database. The tool will be made available prior to the start of rejections (currently scheduled for April 5, 2010); however no specific release date has been provided.
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And ... even better news
Pecos Delayed until 2011!! Hip Hip Horray!!
Posted 02-22-2010 at 09:46 AM by KellyOakley
