Holding Claims with 2014 Dates of Service

Medicare administrative contractors will be holding some claims containing 2014 service dates for up to the first 10 business days of January 2014 (i.e., Thursday, January 2 through Wednesday, January 15). Claims will be released as system testing is successfully completed, which is expected during that time frame.

The hold should have minimal impact on provider cash flow because, under current law, clean electronic claims are not paid sooner than 14 calendar days (29 days for paper claims) after the date of receipt. However, if you follow the status of your claim during the claim processing cycle, the claim status may not reflect what you would normally see because of the claims hold.

Medicare claims for services rendered on or before Tuesday, December 31, 2013, are unaffected by the 2014 claims hold and will be processed and paid under normal procedures and time frames. Your patience is appreciated as calendar year 2014 changes are implemented.