ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS VIA MSPRP NOW LIVE

Effective April 1, the Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Portal (MSPRP) is equipped to accept electronic payments for Medicare conditional payment reimbursements. Answers to common inquiries were subsequently released by CMS on April 12, 2019 called “Electronic Payments on the Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Portal (MSPRP) and Commercial Repayment Center Portal (CRCP) Frequently Asked Questions and Answers.” Such functionality was originally referenced in the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers (SMART) Act of 2012.

In the alert, CMS specifically indicated that to make an electronic payment through the MSPRP, one does not need a new or updated user access. The option is available to any user on any matter to which the user already has access.

Payments are not required to be made through the MSPRP. Payers may continue to remit a paper check to satisfy Medicare conditional payment demands. However, any refund issued by the Medicare recovery contractor will still be made via paper check and will not be made electronically, to date.

Interestingly, CMS specifically reports that in order to make an electronic payment through the MSPRP, the matter to which you wish to apply payment must be in “demand” status. There is no option to remit payment electronically unless the amount has been demanded. Therefore, if payment is desired to be made on a Conditional Payment Notice instead of a Demand for Reimbursement, a written check still must be mailed to the CRC/BCRC for application to the claim. Furthermore, CMS clarifies that when paying online, this does not mean that the full demand amount must be paid. If a Redetermination Request has been submitted on a portion of the conditional payments being asserted, a user can still submit a partial electronic payment.

Finally, CMS reported that the electronic payments utilize Pay.gov to secure the transaction, where payments can be made utilizing a savings/check account, debit card, or PayPal linked to a bank account. Credit cards, however, are not being accepted for payment at present. Also, the limit for each payment method is posted, as well. Once payment has been made. a confirmation of payment will be posted to the MSPRP on the Payment Status page. Additionally, an Electronic Payment History status will list the status of all electronic payments, as well as the amount and payment date.

In summary, the new electronic payment system appears to streamline the payment process significantly, with much quicker application times and updates to the portal. However, as indicated above, it is still requiring that non-demand claims must be paid via paper check. This can be frustrating for those that are attempting to make payments before the demand and can potentially complicate settlements.

We at Gordon and Rees will continue to monitor these issues and will continue to report any updates.