Surprising pitfall for clients

A big pitfall for some of my clients has been not informing Medicare that their business address or incorporation status has changed. This may seem simple enough but I have have been surprised how many clients have fallen into this problem. If Medicare tries to send the supplier something (check?) and it is returned, then your Medicare supplier number is turned off. It's that simple; except it will take about three months to get it turned back on again. One of my suppliers was denied a reinstatement and it took them six months to go through the process all over again. This was a crippling experience for them. If as a new supplier you set up as a sole proprietor and then change to an LLC or Inc. then Medicare has to be informed immediately. Keep in mind that when you change incorporation status you will recieve new Medicare supplier number. Here is a list of reasons that will get your Medicare supplier number revoked:



change of address not on file, change of incorporation, change of ownership/partnership status, beneficiary calls Medicare becuase they can't get in touch with the supplier, did not file CMS855S renewal paperwork in a timely manor & very soon, not being an accredited supplier by September 30, 2009



There are lots of other reasons that your supplier number can be revoked but the rest are criminal reasons. I am not an attorney so I can't comment on those problems!