Medicare Provider Payment Method Requires Use Of EFT
Existing regulations at 42 CFR 424.510(e)(1)(2) require that at the time of enrollment with the Medicare program (initial enrollment, enrollment record change, or re-validation), providers and suppliers must agree to receive Medicare provider payments via EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). Section 1104 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) further expands Section 1862 (a) of the Social Security Act by mandating federal payments to providers and suppliers only by electronic means. As part of CMS’s revalidation efforts, all suppliers and providers who are not currently receiving EFT payments will be identified, and required to submit the CMS 588 EFT form with the Provider Enrollment Revalidation application.
An important part of accurately completing the CMS 588 EFT form is to provide verification of your banking information. CMS will accept two types of verification. 1) a pre-printed business check showing your legal business name exactly as it is on file with the IRS (match the name shown on your CP575), or 2) a letter from your bank verifying your account.
Your pre-printed check must match your legal business name as shown on your CP575 and it cannot vary at all. If your legal business name is shown as “XYZ Practice LLC” and your pre-printed check says “XYZ Practice”, then your EFT application will be rejected and you won’t be able to receive Medicare payments even if your enrollment application is approved. If your checks don’t match exactly, then have a bank officer prepare a letter on their letterhead verifying the account by stating the full legal business name as on file with the IRS, the type of account (business checking), the routing #, and the account#; the letter should be signed by a bank officer.
Don’t take the form 588 lightly as it will cause your Medicare provider payments to cease if it is not in place.
