CMS is in the middle of a five-year campaign to check that all providers and facilities billing Medicare are properly enrolled to do so and, 
following a brief lull, the process is spinning back up.
In July, CMS fired off 15,825 revalidation letters (sent in bright yellow envelopes to get your attention) nationwide. The number has varied from roughly 50,000 a month last fall and winter to only 8,000 a month in April and May of this year.
Top CMS officials, speaking at DecisionHealth’s 11th annual Medicare Enrollment Workshop, said they sent large waves of revalidations initially because those providers were most overdue to revalidate.
Once revalidations arrive, you must respond in the form of a completed revalidation (either using online PECOS or the appropriate paper CMS-855 forms) within 60 calendar days. Failure to do so will cause your billing privileges to be temporarily suspended, which is no small thing, since a temporary suspension can freeze Medicare payments for weeks or even months.
New to Medicare credentialing or have questions on revalidation? Meet CMS’s director of enrollment in person and get the best training available at DecisionHealth’s 2012 National Medicare Provider Enrollment Summit October 3-5 at the Crystal City Marriott outside of Washington, D.C. Attendance includes CEUs for AAPC and NAMSS.