Issue
|
Cause/Resolution
|
Status/Date Resolved
|
What Can You Do?
|
| 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. |
11/01/2013: Progress
continues, goal of mid-November continues to be achievable. |
Please do
not resubmit your application as this compounds the problem. We suggest you
check the status tool in about 10 to 12 days. |
| 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. |
11/01/2013: Aggressive
pursuit of a resolution continues. We apologize for any inconvenience this
may have caused. |
If you
receive duplicate letters, you may discard as you deem appropriate. |
| 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. |
11/01/2013: – Part A - We remain on track to resolve this issue this week. Part B - We are on track to resolve this issue by mid-November. |
Please do
not resubmit Appeal(s) or call the Customer Contact Center repeatedly as
these actions compound problems. |
| 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. |
11/01/2013: No delays are
being experienced for documents submitted via fax to image. Delays experienced with documents, submitted via other methods, have decreased significantly. 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 11/01/2013: In the event that ADRs time-out (i.e. at day 45) for non-receipt of documentation, auto-denial of the claim will occur. However, if timely submitted documentation becomes available, Medical Review will automatically reopen and work the claim. 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. |
11/01/2013: 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. |
Ongoing |
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. |
11/01/2013: The wait time to reach
a customer service representative has improved over the month of
October. We realize the wait time continues to be higher than normal
and we continue to take the necessary steps to further reduce any delay
providers may be experiencing. |
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. Recently identified is an issue where the website is being browsed without a “www” at the start of a link (“novitas-solutions.com” instead of “www.novitas-solutions.com”). This has found to cause the display issues being encountered. |
11/01/2013: Functionality
(small scrolling window), has been resolved for IE 7, 8, 9, 10 and Firefox. Issues
continue, however, with the latest versions of Safari and Chrome. We are
working to identify how many of our customers are using these browser
versions to determine the magnitude of the issue and prioritize resolution
accordingly. The issue with the website being browsed without a “www” at the start of a link was resolved on 10/31/2013. Even if “www” is not present/added by the user, the system will add the “www” automatically. |
Should
you encounter the display of text on our website as described here, please
check your web address or hyperlink to determine if “www” is present as it
should be. Example: Your browser (web address) or link reads “http://novitas-solutions.com”. If so, type in the “www” so it reads “http://www.novitas-solutions.com”. |
| 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. |
11/01/2013: Issues have been
resolved on some, but not all, mobile devices. We are working to identify
volume of use for the numerous mobile devices that are used by our provider
communities. This will allow us to successfully prioritize needed solutions. |
No action
is necessary. |
| A/B
Selection Button On The Website Is Not Working |
The A/B
selector button in the upper left hand corner is not working, when selected,
on many modern browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer 9 and 10 and those on mobile
devices such as Safari and Chrome). |
11/01/2013: Fix is in place.
Testing is underway (see next item regarding refreshing). Content specific to your selection will be evident with the next click/link you make. |
Once you
have made your selection (Part A or Part B), click on the item you are
interested in. |
| 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. |
11/01/2013: 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. |
| 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. |
Ongoing |
Providers
can email the CID to Questcert@novitas-solutions.com . |
| Remittance
Notices received
are inappropriate |
Providers
may be receiving remittance notices with the message
“Missing/incomplete/invalid entitlement number or name shown on the claim” inappropriately. It is important to note that the claims have processed correctly. |
11/01/2013: The standard
system maintainer has corrected the logic so that this message does not
appear when not warranted. |
No action
is necessary. |
| 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. |
11/01/2013:
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 solution was recently installed. Tracking, to ensure this resolved the issue, is underway. |
No action
is necessary. |
We will continue to provide updates as sent out by Novitas.
