The long-awaited Section 111 Mandatory Insurer Reporting Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) rule has been released.  Recall that the purpose of the rule is to set out specific criteria for when CMS may impose penalties for what it considers a failure to report or improper reporting.  The rule is unpublished but will be considered published tomorrow, October 11.

In conjunction with its release, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued the following Alert:
 
Effective Dates

Please note that this rule is effective as of 60 days following the date of publication (December 11, 2023), but is only applicable one year after publication (October 10, 2024). RREs are expected to be compliant with their Section 111 Mandatory Insurer Reporting requirements no later than October 10, 2024, or they may be eligible for a CMP.

Additional Information

RREs should review the published rule and take time to evaluate their reporting processes to ensure the RRE is compliant with all reporting requirements before the rule goes into effect. If RREs have any questions or concerns about their reporting, they should contact their EDI representative.

We know that CMPs are of great interest to RREs, and CMS is in the process of developing and publishing additional written guidance related to CMPs. Questions should be directed to the new CMS Section 111 Civil Money Penalties mailbox at Sec111CMP@cms.hhs.gov. Please be aware that responses should not be anticipated at this time; CMS will use these questions and comments to help inform outreach and educational materials (including webinar presentations). RREs should continue to monitor the Mandatory Insurer Reporting pages on CMS.gov where additional guidance and updates, including information about CMP-related webinars, will be posted.

Key Takeaway
 
The initial key takeaway from this announcement is the rule will be enforced against RREs starting on October 10, 2024, one year from today. Further, as noted by CMS, there will be additional guidance before that date.

We are in the process of reviewing the regulation and will provide a complete analysis shortly.  This will be followed by an invitation to a special Tower webinar to explain the rule and its implications for RREs and answer your questions.

If you have any immediate questions, please reach out to Tower’s Chief Compliance Officer, Dan Anders at daniel.anders@towermsa.com.