October 9, 2020
On October 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced amended repayment terms for payments issued under the Accelerated and Advance Payments (“AAP”) Program during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Pursuant to the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, enacted on October 1, 2020, repayment will now begin one year from the issuance date of each provider’s or supplier’s payment issued under the AAP Program. Additionally, as of October 8, 2020, CMS will no longer accept applications for accelerated or advance payments related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Per the terms of the AAP Program, providers were originally required to make payments beginning in August 2020, but under the amended terms, repayment will be delayed until one year after the AAP Program payment was issued to the provider. After that first year, Medicare will automatically recoup 25% of Medicare payments owed to the provider over an 11-month period. At the end of the 11-month period, recoupment will increase to 50% for another six-month period. If the provider is unable to repay the total amount of the AAP payments originally received by the provider during the 29-month period, CMS will issue letters requiring repayment of any outstanding balance within 30 days from the date of the letter. CMS may immediately issue letters to providers and suppliers who received accelerated or advance payments in error. If payment is not received by the end of the 30-day period, interest will accrue at the rate of 4% from the date of the letter until payment is received by CMS. In cases of extreme hardship, a provider may request an extended repayment schedule (ERS) from its Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). CMS will be providing more information to each provider over the next few weeks as to the repayment terms and amounts owed as applicable for any AAP Program payment issued.
Additional information from CMS can be found here and an AAP Program Repayment and Recovery FAQ here.
