Providers claiming Medicare bad debt must meet 42 CFR 413.89 and all requirements from Chapter 3 of the Provider Reimbursement Manual.
Providers must correctly classify unpaid deductible and coinsurance amounts for Medicare-Medicaid crossover claims in the accounting records.
For bad debt amounts:
- Do not write off to a contractual allowance account
- Charge to an expense account for uncollectible accounts (bad debt)
Effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2019, providers must comply with these longstanding Medicare bad debt requirements that were released April 4, 2019.
