Novitas System Change Update

Updated: 11/18/2013

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As a result of recent system changes at Novitas, customers may experience the following temporary operational difficulties:

Issue	Cause/Resolution	Status/Date Resolved	What Can You Do?
Website Search Capability Has Not Been Functioning	We are experiencing various issues related to website search and filter capabilities to include: Category Filter:  Allows customers to narrow search results to a specific topic or center. Phrase Search: Allows customers to use a phrase in double quotes for an exact result. Filters When Paging: Selected filters will not disappear when paging forward or backward.   Punctuation Fixes: Special characters (e.g., dashes, quotes) could not be used in searching.	11/18/2013: The following have been resolved: Category Filter: Once you search, you can now select a sub-category from the available list and show only results assigned to that category/center. Phrase Search: Use double quotes around a phrase for an exact result.  For example, searching “medical review” will now only return pages with that exact phrase, instead of also pages with the word “medical” or the word “review”. Filters When Paging: When you page forward or backward, selected filters will end as appropriate. Punctuation Fixes: Use of special characters (e.g., dashes, quotes) in a search will no longer result in an error.	We appreciated your patience as we worked on resolving these issues.
Not All Website Content Is Appropriately Tagged Or Split (Part A or Part B)	We are in the process of correcting website content  left from the disengagement, including: Content is still tagged incorrectly (e.g., a JH only page may still be tagged as JL/JH and would also show in a search for JL content). A/B content is not able to be split in search results.  Customers who select A or B will still see both A and B related search results.	11/18/2013: Content tagged incorrectly is being corrected when identified. We continue to prioritize issues and work to enhance this functionality of the website.	No action is necessary.
Website Content Pages Are Not Functioning Properly	We are experiencing various issues when trying to review content on our Website. Content is displaying in a small, scrolling upper portion of the browser window, rather than on the full screen. Browser compatibility between the various versions of Internet Explorer (IE) is being investigated. Updates will be made as issues as identified to ensure all customers can effectively use our website.	11/18/2013: Functionality (small scrolling window) issues continue, with the latest versions of Apple Safari, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer Version 9.  Investigation reveals 5% or our customers use Google Chrome and 1% use Safari to access the website. Prioritization of resolution is underway.	Internet Explorer Version 9 users can resolve these issues by updating to Internet Explorer version 10.
Website Content Pages Are Not Functioning Properly When Accessed By Mobile Devices	We are experiencing various issues when trying to review content on our Website when using a device like an iPad or iPhone. Content is displaying in a small, scrolling upper portion of the browser window, rather than on the full screen or content cannot be scrolled through.	11/18/2013: Issues have been resolved on some, but not all, mobile devices. Investigation reveals 1% or our customers access our website via a mobile device.  Prioritization is complete.	No action is necessary.
Appeal is not in  Appeals Status Tool	Appeals received after September 23, 2013 may not be entered in the Appeals Status Tool as expected.  Therefore, this may not be an accurate method to determine if an Appeal request has been received by Novitas.	11/18/2013: Part A & Part B – Stability of front-line processes continues; resolution is expected by the end of November.	Please do not resubmit Appeal(s) or call the Customer Contact Center repeatedly as these actions compound problems.
Policy Pages (e.g., LCDs, Articles, and IDEs) Are Not Functioning Properly. The Policy Center on the website is not as robust as the previous version.	We continue to experience problems with printing of some LCDs and articles directly from the website. We are working diligently on resolving this issue.	11/18/2013: The print capability is being added to policies as the need is identified. We continue to prioritize issues and work to enhance the functionality of the policy area.	A Temporary work around, for policies that do not contain a print option (absence of picture of a printer and the word “Print” in the upper right corner of the screen), is as follows: • Pull up desired policy/article • Click within the title • Select Edit • Select All • Select Edit again • Copy • Paste into a word document We encourage providers to submit questions, concerns, and suggestions regarding the policy area of the website so that we can continue to enhance the webpage. Please visit the Medical Policy Center, and click Contact Information
CERT Claim ID (CID) tool is not functioning.	While coding modifications are being made, the CERT Claim ID tool is not available. Therefore, the tool cannot be used to determine the outcome of a review completed by CERT.	11/18/2013: Development of a solution has been initiated.  Completion is expected by December 2013.	Providers can email the CID to Questcert@novitas-solutions.com
Validation of Beneficiary Eligibility may not be processing correctly	Novitas is aware of issues with the process for validating beneficiary eligibility that is a result of an October release installed by the Fiscal Intermediary Shared System (FISS) and Common Working File (CWF) which is causing claims to reject erroneously, returning to the provider (RTP), or are unable to be processed. This issue appears to be limited to specific types of claims that are being sent back to the FISS under this new process and being applied to the claims incorrectly under certain circumstances.   Novitas, and other contractors, are working with FISS to resolve these issues.	11/18/2013: Part A: Primary impact is being seen on certain Part A claims. Part B: Impact is greatest with Veteran Affairs (VA) and centralized flu claims. A fix for many of the FISS Reason Code related issues has been implemented. We are currently validating.	No action is necessary.
Enrollment information not in Enrollment Inquiry Status Tool	CMS-855s received after September 23, 2013 may not be entered in the Provider Enrollment Inquiry Status Tool as expected. This may not be an accurate method to determine if a CMS-855 application has been received by Novitas.    We are working diligently to correct this issue with a goal that all applications are available for viewing by mid-November.	11/18/2013: Applications received prior to October 28, 2013 are now available in the Status Tool.  Progress continues on those received after October 28, 2013.	Please do not resubmit your application as this compounds the problem. We suggest you check the status tool next week.
Enrollment determination letters are being duplicated	Due to technical issues, some providers/suppliers may have, or will, receive duplicate auto-generated letters from Novitas’ Provider Enrollment department.	11/18/2013: A solution for this problem was installed and duplicate letters are no longer generating. Monitoring continues to ensure resolution.	We appreciate your patience while we worked to resolve this issue.
Delays are occurring with processes (e.g., Medical Review, Claims Processing) requiring submission of  documentation	Due to recent system changes, technical difficulties have been encountered by Novitas Solutions’ Mailroom with respect to imaging of submitted documents such as medical records and responses to inquiries.  As a result, providers who have submitted medical records and/or other correspondence, in response to Additional Development Requests (ADR), Automated Development System (ADS) message or other communications such as submission of paperwork (PWK) may not be seeing these documents accurately reflected as such in the claims processing systems.	11/18/2013: No delays are being experienced for documents submitted via fax to image. Delays experienced with documents, submitted via other methods, have continued to decrease. Please be assured that documentation has not been “lost”.  Novitas Solutions continues to receive and process all incoming correspondence.	Providers should submit documents via fax to image when possible. Please do not resubmit your documents or call the Customer Contact Center repeatedly as these actions compound problems.
Delays: Medical Review	See description above.	Part B 11/18/2013: Front-line processing of ADR/ADS letters and PWKs is now current.  Medical Review will continue to automatically reopen and work any claims that time-out.  You will receive a letter notifying you of post-pay adjudication.	If you receive a non-response denial letter, please wait 10 business days before calling the Customer Contact Center or submitting an appeal. Monitor for receipt of the post-pay adjudication letter during this time-period.
Delays: Claims Processing-Part B	See description above.	11/18/2013: In the event that ADRs time-out (i.e. at day 45) for non-receipt of documentation, relative to the imaging issue, we will work directly with providers to reopen / reprocess claims accordingly.	No action is necessary.
Part B solicited cash refund checks  are not being processed timely	Novitas is experiencing delays in processing of Part B solicited cash.  Because of this delay, the automatic system offset may occur.  As a result: Novitas will still process your check as if we were processing it on the date of receipt.  This means that if interest was automatically assessed in error and not due, it will be returned.  If your debt is resolved, we are required to apply your payment to any other outstanding Medicare debt. If no additional monies are owed to Medicare, a check will be returned to you for any balance that remains.	11/18/2013: Additional staff has been trained to assist with solicited cash workload. We continue making progress with increasing our daily processing level for this workload.	There is no further action you need to take.
Long Wait Times for Customer Service	Receipt of a high volume of calls in our Customer Contact Center is causing longer than usual wait times.  We appreciate your patience.	11/18/2013: Immediately following the Veterans Day holiday we experienced issues with our IVR and subsequently, wait times.  Through the remainder of the week improvement should be realized.	No action is necessary.

Novitas will continue to provide updates as appropriate.