Medicare Contracting Reform (MCR) Update

Section 911 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) Congress mandated that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services replace the current contracting authority under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act with the new Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) authority. This mandate is referred to as Medicare Contracting Reform. Medicare Contracting Reform is intended to improve Medicare’s administrative services to beneficiaries and health care providers. All Medicare work performed by Fiscal Intermediaries and Carriers will be replaced by the new A/B MACs by 2011. Providers may access the most current MCR information to determine the impact of these changes at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareContractingReform/ on the CMS website.