Medicare Application

[PharoPod]

I am finishing up residency in a few months. Have not found a job yet but I was told it is a good idea to start filling up medicare application to save time when I start working since it is time consuming then it is easier and faster to reassign my medicare benifits later on if i work somewhere. Is this accurate? If yes, which medicare form should I fill out now?

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[dpmgrad]

You are correct in that it is rather time consuming in enrolling in Medicare. You are also correct that it is easier and faster to reassign your medicare benefits to another practice. Many graduating residents wait until May or June to enroll in medicare. The problem with this is that resident is submitting his/her medicare application during "peak" season, when tons of other residents are enrolling in medicare. Hence, there will be significant delay in processing the medicare applications. So, ideally, you want to get your medicare enrollment application in before the "peak" season. When one fills out the medicare enrollment application, one should be very careful not to make a mistake on the applications. Any errors in the application will cause the application to be rejected. You will have to correct the error and resubmit the application. Hence, further delaying your enrollment into medicare.

To enroll in medicare, you can apply online at https://pecos.cms.hhs.gov/pecos/login.do
Here is a checklist of things that you will need for your medicare enrollment application: https://pecos.cms.hhs.gov/pecos/help-main/prctnrchecklist.jsp

Please note that you will need a NPI number (which most residents should have gotten one when they started residency) and a valid state Podiatry license. This license cannot be a resident or limited license. So, if you have a resident license or a limited license, you will need to apply for a regular state Podiatry license before enrolling in medicare. Podiatry residents in Pennsylvania should already have their Pennsylvania Podiatry License since it is a requirement to start their residency training in Pennsylvania.

I hope that this helps.

 

[PharoPod]

Thank you very much for your response. Very helpful!

 

[footie24]

you cant apply for medicare until you have a business address, and it needs to be within 2 months of your start date.

 

[dpmgrad]

you cant apply for medicare until you have a business address, and it needs to be within 2 months of your start date.

You are correct that you need to have a business address in order to enroll in medicare. Many of my residents in the past have used one of the private practices that they have rotated through during their residency training as the business address. The only caveat with this is that that private practice needs to be trustworthy and NOT bill medicare for any patient care services when you assign your medicare benefits to that office. It is technically illegal since it would be like double dipping into Medicare.

 

[Creflo]

What if you want to use your home address as your business address, is there any rule against this?

 

[Kissmyabjj]

Will the hospital I am currently doing my internship in be able to bill for me during my gap year between the end of my internship and the start of my PGY-2 year in 2016? I am trying to find clinical work during this time and the Chief Medical Officer told me that he would hire me to help the hospitalist teams and do admissions/discharges if he the hospital would be able to bill for my services. I have been trying to research this, but it is difficult. It seems like Medicare doesn't make a distinction between licensed (but non-board eligible) and board-certified/board-eligible physicians when it comes to billing. Can anyone confirm this is the case?