In efforts to heighten security and reduce the opportunities for Medicare fraud, CMS announced that it was requiring all Medicare Administrative Contractors, including NGS, to eliminate the provider and beneficiary eligibility telephone number functionality from their IVR system. Certified home health agencies and hospices that had used this system to acquire eligibility data through November 18, 2024, would no longer be allowed to do so.

Elimination will affect other important pieces of information previously available through IVR Option 1, such as eligibility dates for Part A and Part B, current and prior year deductibles, amounts for physical and occupational therapy limits, and information regarding home health and hospice providers. Also, the information related to preventive care, that was previously accessible using the IVR.

In order to retain access to such information, NGS encourages providers to utilize the secure online portal, NGSConnex. CHHAs and hospices that are not currently enrolled in NGSConnex are encouraged to start the enrollment process by referring to the appropriate NGSConnex User Guide.

NGS is offering several webinars that will assist providers in navigating the NGSConnex portal to locate provider registration, look up a beneficiary's eligibility, and more. The NGS Connex webinars are located on the NGS site under Education and are easily accessible by selecting "Jurisdiction 6 Home Health & Hospice (HH&H)".

NGS has announced that their Provider Contact Center (PCC) will discontinue eligibility through telephone. The reasons include that contacts cannot disclose information obtained from self-service features like NGSConnex. For more information and to enroll in the webinars go to NGSMedicare.com.