Spotlight

Regularly Scheduled System Unavailability

Every Monday from 12:00 Midnight until 6:00 A.M. Eastern, there is a regularly scheduled maintenance period to include routine server rebooting. During this period, the system will be unavailable and transactions will not be processed. Please plan accordingly.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Medicare Customer Assistance Regarding Eligibility (MCARE) Help Desk via email (mcare@cms.hhs.gov) or phone (1-866-440-3805).  

HETS 270/271 - Announcements

Medicare HETS 270/271 - System Outage Notification – April 12-14, 2013

CMS announces that it will perform data center maintenance on the weekend of Friday, April 12 - Sunday, April 14, 2013.  The maintenance window will begin at 9:00 PM ET on Friday, April 12, 2013.  The HETS 270/271 system will be unavailable during this period.  Attempts to open a connection to the HETS 270/271 application will result in errors.  CMS estimates that the maintenance will be completed on the same day by 5:00 PM ET on Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Please note that this outage will be in addition to the previously announced outage for March 29-31, 2013 (copy provided below).

Medicare HETS 270/271 Eligibility - Information Bulletin - Upcoming System Release - March 22, 2013

CMS is planning a HETS 270/271 system release in the 2nd Quarter of 2013 that will add and/or modify data elements to both the ASCX12 Version 5010A1 270 request and 271 response files used by the HIPAA Eligibility Transaction System (HETS) 270/271.  No content changes to the 270 request are absolutely required for this release but this is a significant release that includes a change in that HETS 270/271 will now require submission of a HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) code instead of Service Type codes in the 270 request to receive Preventive service data in the 271 response.  Please review the online release documentation and prepare as necessary.  The release documentation can be found below in the Downloads section.
 
An updated HETS 270/271 Companion Guide that includes 2013  Q2 changes will be distributed as soon as possible.  CMS will notify all submitters when this document is available.

The release is tentatively scheduled to be installed in June, 2013.  The HETS 270/271 application will be unavailable during the system release.  CMS will distribute more specific release information (including estimated outage times) in May, 2013.

Medicare HETS 270/271 - System Outage Notification – March 23, 2013

CMS announces that it will perform data center maintenance on Saturday, March 23, 2013.  The maintenance window will begin at 12:00 AM (Midnight) ET on Saturday, March 23, 2013.  The HETS 270/271 system will be unavailable during this period.  Attempts to open a connection to the HETS 270/271 application will result in errors.  CMS estimates that the maintenance will be completed on the same day by 3:00 AM ET on Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Please note that this outage will be in addition to the previously announced outage for Friday, March 29 - Sunday, March 31, 2013 (copy provided below).

Medicare HETS 270/271 - System Outage Notification – March 29-31, 2013

CMS announces that it will perform data center maintenance on the weekend of Friday, March 29 - Sunday, March 31, 2013.  The maintenance window will begin at 9:00 PM ET on Friday, March 29, 2013.  The HETS 270/271 system will be unavailable during this period.  Attempts to open a connection to the HETS 270/271 application will result in errors.  CMS estimates that the maintenance will be completed on the same day by 9:00 PM ET on Sunday, March 31, 2013.

Please note that his outage will be in addition to the previously announced outage for Saturday, March 16, 2013 (copy provided below).

*Medicare HETS 270/271 Eligibility - Information Bulletin - Communication Protocol Best Practices - March 23, 2011

CMS has updated the list of HETS submitter DO's and DON'Ts that were originally provided to HETS 270/271 submitters on March 2, 2011. The new version of these best practices is available in the Downloads section below.
CMS requires that all HETS 270/271 submitters read this document and then review their HETS communication protocol practices to ensure that their organization is following these best practices. CMS will contact submitters whose behavior is not consistent with these practices to determine the submitter's action plan to improve.

*Medicare HETS 270/271 - Information Bulletin - May 20, 2010

CMS wants to emphasize to trading partners that HETS 270/271 Submitters are not authorized to utilize HETS to create non-CMS controlled Medicare eligibility databases.

HETS 270/271 Submitters have access to HETS 270/271 for the purpose of verifying Medicare eligibility (after screening the patient to initially determine Medicare eligibility) and determining information necessary for the submission of a claim.  Use of HETS data outside of this intended purpose requires written authorization/consent from CMS and the beneficiary. HETS data is not intended to be repurposed for any other use.  HETS 270/271 Submitters cannot create and host local Medicare eligibility databases that replicate HETS functionality.

HETS UI - Announcements

Medicare HETS UI - System Outage Notification - April 12-14, 2013

CMS announces that it will perform data center maintenance on the weekend of Friday, April 12 - Sunday, April 14, 2013.  The maintenance window will begin at 9:00 PM ET on Friday, April 12, 2013.  The HETS UI Internet Eligibility system will be unavailable during this period.  Attempts to open a session of the HETS UI Internet Eligibility application will result in errors.  CMS estimates that the maintenance will be completed on the same day by 5:00 PM ET on Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Please note that this outage will be in addition to the previously announced outage for March 29-31, 2013 (copy provided below).

Medicare HETS UI - System Outage Notification - March 23, 2013

CMS announces that it will perform data center maintenance on Saturday, March 23, 2013.  The maintenance window will begin at 12:00 AM (Midnight) ET on Saturday, March 23, 2013.  The HETS 270/271 system will be unavailable during this period.  Attempts to open a connection to the HETS 270/271 application will result in errors.  CMS estimates that the maintenance will be completed on the same day by 3:00 AM ET on Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Please note that this outage will be in addition to the previously announced outage for Friday, March 29 - Sunday, March 31, 2013 (copy provided below).

Medicare HETS UI - System Outage Notification - March 29-31, 2013

CMS announces that it will perform data center maintenance on the weekend of Friday, March 29 - Sunday, March 31, 2013.  The maintenance window will begin at 9:00 PM ET on Friday, March 29, 2013.  The HETS UI Internet Eligibility system will be unavailable during this period.  Attempts to open a session of the HETS UI Internet Eligibility application will result in errors.  CMS estimates that the maintenance will be completed on the same day by 9:00 PM ET on Sunday, March 31, 2013.

*Action Required - Medicare HETS UI Internet Eligibility - Access to CMS Computer Services (IACS)

CMS recommends that all individuals with IACS accounts log in to their IACS account at least once every 60 days. Individuals that do not log in to their IACS account with regularity may be disabled or archived without further notification.  These individuals will have to re-register via IACS to reinstate their access.

The MCARE Help Desk can be reached via email (mcare@cms.hhs.gov) or phone (1-866-440-3805) if you have any questions or comments.

Please see the MCARE Notification Archive link from the Related Links Inside CMS below for prior announcements.