We are in the final days before the Medicare Administrative Contractor transition for Indiana Medicare Part B claims from National Government Services (NGS) to Wisconsin Physician Services (WPS). As the deadline approaches, take some time to review the transition schedule, as well as any steps needed before and after.
August 17, 2012, will be the last day that electronic claims may be submitted using contract number 00630 for Part B Indiana providers. Claims may be submitted with the 00630 contract number through 4:59 p.m. From 5 p.m. that day and forward, Indiana Part B claims must be submitted with the WPS contract number 08102. Those claims submitted from 5 p.m. August 17 through August 19 will be processed on August 20.
NGS also will be issuing checks and EFT payments for the last time on August 17, 2012, for Part B Indiana providers.
The actual cutover will take place beginning August 18, 2012, at which time all NGS files will be transferred to WPS. On August 20, WPS has declared a “dark day,” during which online access through their self-service C-SNAP portal and automated interactive voice response (IVR) access will be limited and telephone service through the Contact Center will be unavailable while the transition is finalized and validated.
WPS will run a normal claims processing cycle on August 20, including acceptance of paper claims, even though online and phone access is limited, to ensure a smooth cash flow to the Indiana provider community.
The official “go-live” date for WPS for Indiana Part B is August 21, 2012. On that date, all systems will be available, including C-SNAP, IVR, and the contact center. WPS will also process their first payment cycle on August 21.
So, what’s next? Here’s what you need to do:
- Send a new EFT agreement to WPS immediately if you currently receive electronic payments from NGS. WPS began accepting new CMS-588 forms back in May and asked that all providers submit them by June 30, 2012, to avoid interruption in payments.
- Change the contract code (payer ID) for electronic claims to 08102 between your last claim run prior to 4:59 p.m. on August 17, and your first claim run after 5 p.m. on August 17. You do not need to change your submitter ID.
- Register for C-SNAP. Though Part B providers won’t have full access to data in C-SNAP until August 21, WPS is allowing pre-registration with the following information: NPI, PTAN, TIN, and a current remittance notice from NGS.
- Update all contact information for WPS, including the customer service department. Beginning August 20, all correspondence regarding Indiana Part B claims should be directed to WPS, even if the initial claim was submitted to NGS, or even if the payment you wish to offset was processed by NGS. All NGS files for Indiana Part B will be transitioned to WPS.
- Review the new WPS Jurisdiction 8 Local Coverage Determination (LCD) Policieswhich will apply to all dates of service (DOS) on or after August 20, 2012. WPS will process claims for DOS prior to August 20, 2012, according the current NGS LCD policies.
- Update your WPS eNews preferences. Indiana Part B providers will need to subscribe only to the J8 MAC Part B (MI, IN) updates, and will no longer need J8 Implementation or Legacy Part B messages.
- Do not submit any duplicate claims or other requests to WPS. All work pending with NGS will be transition to WPS.
Other information related to the Indiana Part B J8 MAC transition to WPS can be found on the WPS J8 MAC Part B Implementation Information page.
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