Why are My Payments Being Held? - JF Part B
Why are My Payments Being Held?
Do Not Forward (DNF)
The Do Not Forward Initiative (DNF) was implemented by CMS to help prevent fraud. If a check or Remittance Advice (RA) is returned by the Post Office, the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) is required to put a DNF flag on the provider record. This means a provider's check or checks are placed in a "hold" status until the payment address is updated with the MAC.
MACS are required to use "Return Service Requested" envelopes for all checks, RAs and overpayment demand letters that are mailed to providers. The Post Office is NOT able to forward the Medicare payments to a different mailing address.
The DNF flag is also placed when a provider's banking information, provided via the CMS-588 EFT Form, is not up to date.
Provider Not Receiving Payments Due to DNF
There could be several reasons why a provider has a DNF flag and is not getting paid:
- Practice location address change not reported
- Special payment address change not reported
- Banking changes not reported
- Revalidation not completed
- Provider/Supplier has been Revoked, Denied or Deactivated Non response to Medicare request
- Billing errors
Remove DNF from Provider Record
If a provider suspects that one of the above reasons may be why no payment is being received, contact the Enrollment Contact Center. See Provider Enrollment Contacts.
