Medicare Opt-in/Opt-out Deadline of June 1, 2015 fast approaching

By Randall Smith, BRS Dental, Vice President, Consulting and Support

First published here on our website back in September, 2014, I’ve set up this new post to remind dental offices that although direct billing to Medicare may be minimal, ALL dental offices need to make decisions before the deadline.  The ADA News (see http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2014-archive/june/dentists-must-choose-to-opt-in-or-out-of-medicare-enrollment ) published an article about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services final rule from May, 2014, that set a deadline of June 1, 2015, by which time dentists that treat Medicare patients and prescribe Part D covered drugs must either opt-in or opt-out of Medicare.   If opting out, dentists cannot receive Medicare payments for two years.  And, it is not a simple decision – there is an option to enroll for ordering and referring, which is not the same as opt-in for Medicare billing.  Your decisions could affect Medicare-eligible patients when prescribing drugs and medical appliances.   If you have not already completed the decision process and submitted the forms (and had them accepted), you may want to contact your local dental society, ADA, or a consultant for help.  Time is running out!


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