The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently awarded a 10-year contract to Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), which will serve as the new fiscal intermediary for Medi-Cal. ACS will manage claims processing for health care providers in the Medi-Cal fee-for-service program, including physicians, pharmacies, hospitals and others. ACS will assume full responsibility for Medi-Cal claims processing and related services on October 3, 2011. Until then, the current intermediary, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services (formerly Electronic Data Systems), will continue to process all claims.
DHCS expects the transition to be seamless and that there will be minimal or no impact on the provider community. Medi-Cal providers will not be required to enter into new agreements with DHCS for submission of claims, electronic funds transfer, or point-of-service/Internet usage. Claims submission, processing, and payment will continue without interruption during this transition. Medi-Cal contact information also remains unchanged, including phone numbers, addresses and websites.
All claim forms and submission processes will remain the same. Physicians should continue to submit claims as usual. Once ACS assumes operations, all claims will be transferred to ACS and will be processed just as they are processed today.
Medi-Cal communications to providers will continue to be issued through the existing channels: provider bulletins, website updates, interactive voice response (IVR) messages, etc. In addition, the telephone service center will be augmented with extra resources to ensure providers have immediate access to assistance should the need arise.
If you have any questions regarding this transition, please contact Medi-Cal at (800) 541-5555.
DHCS and ACS will also be hosting town halls in Anaheim and Sacramento, to help answer questions about the transition. The sessions are free and will be repeated three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening sessions) to accommodate as many attendees as possible.
The Anaheim town halls will be Thursday, September 22, at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Desert Palms Hotel and Suites. The Sacramento town halls will be Monday, September 26, at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Arden West Hilton.
To register for any of these events, email medi-caloutreach@acs-inc.com with the provider name, number of people attending, and the date, time and location of the preferred session.
Contact: CMA's reimbursement helpline, (888) 401-5911 or economicservices@cmanet.org.