MEDICARE ACCELERATED AND ADVANCE PAYMENT (AAP) REPAYMENT-TWO MONTHS AND COUNTING

AAP repayments will begin, for all Medicare providers who received AAP payments, one year from date of the AAP receipt. Repayment start dates are specific to SNF providers associated with their date of AAP receipt. For many SNFs, repayment dates begin in April 2021. Providers do not need to take any action to repay.

Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will automatically begin to recover payment amounts by reducing paid claims until the AAP is repaid. The American Health Care Association (AHCA) was successful with ensuring SNFs were including 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 4%. Normally, AAP payment extensions are subject to the Treasury Department’s given interest rate. Access to these provisions offer more time to repay and more predictability through a fix interest rate.

Based on the statutorily defined schedule, SNFs should assess their cash flow for quarter two of 2021. For an AHCA overview of the repayment schedule and additional AAP information (including options to request payment extensions), click here. To review the CMS FAQs, click here.