Electronic Remittance Advise (ERA) provides claims payment/denial information for automated posting to patient accounts. You can end manual posting, and free your office staff for more important tasks if your software vendor provides the ability to configure your system to automatically update your accounts receivable or patient billing system.

Review your office processes and ask these questions:

If ERA/ERN could benefit you, contact your software support vendor for more information.

Additional information with application form and completion instructions

Beginning June 1, 2006, the standard paper remittance (SPR) received through the mail is not available to providers/suppliers 45 days after being setting up to receive the electronic remittance advice (ERA), whether the ERA is received directly or through a billing agent, clearinghouse, or other entity representing a provider/supplier.

In response to the provider/supplier communities continued need for SPR’s, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed free software called Medicare Remit Easy Print (MREP) that gives providers/suppliers a tool to read and print a remittance advice (RA) from the HIPAA compliant Health Care Claim Payment/Advice (835) file. The MREP software was designed to incorporate new functionality to save providers/suppliers time and money. The paper output generated by MREP is similar to the SPR format. CMS has worked with other payers to ensure their acceptance of the SPR generated by the MREP software for coordination of benefit claims submission.

Additionally, CMS has worked with clearinghouses to assure similar software is available to read and print an electronic remittance advice (ERA) for those providers/suppliers that utilize clearinghouse services.

We encourage providers/suppliers currently receiving the ERA, who do not use software to read and print RA’s from these files, to begin using MREP or other similar software before the June 1 cutoff.

We appreciate your continued cooperation as the Medicare program moves toward a more electronic environment.