Electronic signature of the Certification and Settlement Summary page of the Medicare cost reports and the option to electronically transmit MCRs through the CMS Medicare Cost Report e-Filing (MCReF) system
Electronic signature of the Certification and Settlement Summary page of the Medicare cost reports
The Final Rule for the Fiscal Year 2018 update to the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals was published in the August 14, 2017 Federal Register. The Final Rule included a provision for the electronic signature of the Certification and Settlement Summary page of the Medicare cost report. This provision is available as an option for cost reporting periods ending on or after 12/31/2017 in accordance with 42 CFR 413.24(f)(4)(iv).
HFS has been updating MCR system as CMS has released the transmittals to allow our users to electronically sign their MCR’s. Users have several options on how to sign based on the flexibility built into the IPPS Final Rule and HFS has deigned options to maximize convenience. If the HFS user preparing the report has authority to sign the report, they can do so within the system. If the preparer is not the authorized signer they can specify the e-mail address of the authorized person and HFS, using our SaFE site, will facilitate the process of presenting the package to the authorized person and collecting the electronic signature. Signing can be accomplished on any device that has access to e-mail – yes, we have tested on our phones! For documentation and videos, please visit our website https://www.hfssoft.com/webinars/tutorials.
CMS Transmittals Issued include the following:
- Hospital 2552-10 – Implemented in T-13 for further information click here
- Skilled Nursing Facility 2540-10– Implemented in T-8 for further information click here
- Organ Procurement Organization 216-94– Implemented in T-7 for further information click here
- Home Health Agency 1728-94– Implemented in T-18 for further information click here
- ESRD 265-11– Implemented in T-4 for further information click here
In addition CMS is currently reviewing the HFS software for the following transmittals and we anticipate approvals shortly:
- FQHC 224-14 Transmittal 2
- Hospice 1984-14 Transmittal 3
Transmittals for the RHC 222-92 and CMHC 2088-92 have not yet been issued by CMS.
Option to electronically transmit their MCR through the Medicare Cost Report e-Filing (MCReF) system
While separate from the electronic signature of the Certification and Settlement Summary page of the Medicare cost report. CMS has announced a new option for the submission of Medicare Cost Reports. The new Medicare Cost Report e-Filing System or MCReF is not yet publicly availability but CMS has scheduled a training webcast to provide instruction for use of the new system. More information on the May 1, 2018 training webcast can be found at:
CMS presented an overview of the MCReF system to MCR vendors on 4/10/2018. The portal is nice and we think the provider community will find it convenient. The portal is designed to collect files for MCR submissions. This includes the EC (SN, HH, CM, HS, RF, OP, RD, FQ) PI, signed certification page, IRIS files if appropriate and other files that you would normally send to your MAC (Maybe .MCRX and .MCP files).
We encourage users to attend the CMS webcast. We will be in attendance and will continue to learn more about this process and make sure that we are doing everything we can to be compatible and supportive of the new process. Let us know if you have any questions and we will do our best to get answers.
If you have any questions, please contact Eric Swanson at eric@hfssoft.com.