Change in Processing of Accounts Receivable
Previously, recoupment of system-generated Accounts Receivable (AR) began 30 days after the AR was established. Beginning May 1, 2016, recoupment of a system-generated Account Receivable will begin with the subsequent checkwrite after the system-generated Accounts Receivable has been established.
An AR is created in NCTracks when a provider does not have sufficient paid claims in the current checkwrite to satisfy a recoupment of funds, often related to claims reprocessing. Waiting 30 days to begin recoupment of the AR means that the provider is then subject to penalties and interest, based on State business rules. Commencing the recoupment of the AR in the next checkwrite will help providers avoid incurring penalties and interest.
A new letter will be generated to inform a provider's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) that money is owed to a N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) payer. N.C. DHHS payers include the Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), Division of Mental Health (DMH), Division of Public Health (DPH), and Office of Rural Health (ORHCC). The new letter will be titled Notice of Balance Due the NC DHHS – First Demand. A separate First Demand letter will be sent for each payer that is owed money. The First Demand letter will provide information regarding the potential for assessment of penalty and interest and instructions for repayment if the provider does not want to wait on recoupments by NCTracks.
Important Note: For providers who share an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), NCTracks will automatically seek to recoup the AR from other NPIs with the same IRS TIN if funds are insufficient to completely collect the amount(s) due from the NPI for which the AR was generated. The First Demand Letter will be sent to all providers who share the same IRS TIN.
If the AR is not satisfied within 30 days, a 30 Days Past Due Letter will be sent to the provider. The 30 Days Past Due Letter will be sent only to the provider for whom the AR was established, not to any other providers who share the same IRS TIN. The 30 Days Past Due Letter will include the penalty and interest owed on the AR.
If the AR is not satisfied within 60 days, payment to the NPI for which the AR was established as well as all other NPIs associated with the same IRS TIN will be suspended. A 60 Days Past Due Letter will be sent only to the provider for whom the AR was established, not to any other providers who share the same IRS TIN. Providers are responsible for repaying the NC DHHS payer even if they are no longer filing claims to NCTracks.
Examples of the 30 and 60 Days Past Due Letters can be found on the Provider Policies, Manuals, Guidelines and Forms webpage of the NCTracks Provider Portal. (The 30 and 60 Days Past Due Letters are not new, but the verbiage has changed.) A list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the Accounts Receivable process can be found on the FAQ page.