Question: Does the 2% payment reduction under sequestration apply to the payment rates reflected in Medicare fee-for-service fee schedules or does it only apply to the final payment amounts?
Answer: Payment adjustments required under sequestration are applied to all claims after determining the Medicare payment including application of the current fee schedule, coinsurance, any applicable deductible, and any applicable Medicare Secondary Payment adjustments. All fee schedules, Pricers, etc., are unchanged by sequestration; it’s only the final payment amount that is reduced.
Question: How is the 2% payment reduction under sequestration identified on the electronic remittance advice (ERA) and the standard paper remittance (SPR)?
Answer: Claim adjustment reason code (CARC) 223 is used to report the sequestration reduction on the ERA and SPR.