Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) repayments will begin for all Medicare providers, including SNFs, who received AAP payments one year from the date of receipt. Providers do not need to take any action to repay. Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) automatically will begin to recover payment amounts reducing paid claims until the AAP is repaid.
AHCA/NCAL was successful with ensuring SNFs were included in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act. This law extended and modified the repayment schedule. Additionally, the law fixed the interest rate at four percent instead of being subject to the Treasury Department’s given interest rate. Access to these provisions offer more time to repay and more predictability through a fixed interest rate.
Based on the statutorily defined schedule, SNFs should assess their cash flow for Quarter two of 2021. AHCA/NCAL has put together an overview of the repayment schedule, additional AAP information (including options to request payment extensions), and MAC webpages. You may also review the CMS AAP Repayment and Recovery FAQs here.