Overpayment: How Should I Respond?
Table of Contents
- Overpayment: How Should I Respond?
- What Action Should I Take?
- Complete a Voluntary Refund
- Where Should I Send my Forms and Payments?
Overpayment: How Should I Respond?
An overpayment may be identified and self-reported by a provider, or it may be discovered by Medicare contractors as part of the claim and reimbursement review process. The key to reporting and repaying overpayments in compliance with Medicare policies is selecting the appropriate form and submitting it to the correct address for processing.
What Action Should I Take?
The left navigation tasks represent each of the overpayment scenarios. Choose the task that applies to your overpayment for full instructions on:
- which forms to complete, and
- how to respond appropriately and in a timely fashion.
Complete a Voluntary Refund
A voluntary refund and notifications are when you have self-identified that you have been overpaid and you need to refund the excess funds to National Government Services. All checks are made payable to National Government Services.
You may notify National Government Services of overpayments via two ways:
Option 1:
Submit a check with the Part A Voluntary Refund Form. When the claim(s) is adjusted, Medicare will apply the monies to the overpayment.
Option 2:
Submit the Part A Voluntary Refund Form without a check and when the claim(s) are adjusted, NGS will create an account receivable and generate a demand letter to you. When completing this form, you also have the option to select the immediate offset checkbox, which will immediately offset the debt from a current Medicare payment. When this checkbox is selected, NGS will setup the newly created account receivable to net from your Medicare payments right away.
Note: With Option 2 if your organization is not set up for immediate offsets, you will need to follow up when you receive the NGS demand letter. For information on requesting an immediate offset, please see the Part A Immediate Recoupment Request Form.
Where Should I Send my Forms and Payments?
If your overpayment scenario requires you to complete a form, check the right-hand supporting page content area to locate and download the form. Please select the version of the form that corresponds to your contract/state. To avoid confusion, we have placed all address, lockbox and fax number information on the forms themselves.
If you receive a demand letter from our Overpayment Recovery Unit, the letter will also provide instructions and submission information.
Several of our forms can be submitted electronically. For electronic submissions you will be asked to designate your applicable contract on the form itself.
Revised 8/24/2021