The CMS 1500 Form received a facelift last year, primarily to accommodate usage of the NPI. The deadline for switching over to the “new” Form CMS 1500 (08-05) was originally scheduled for April 1, 2007. Due to a glitch in formatting of the new form, CMS has extended the deadline.

A notice generated from the CMS ListServe on March 9th indicated that, “…there are incorrectly formatted versions of the revised form being sold by print vendors, specifically the Government Printing Office (GPO). The GPO has determined that the source files they received from the National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC)’s authorized form designer were improperly formatted.”

Medicare contractors have been instructed to continue to accept the Form CMS 1500 (12-90) until they are told otherwise by CMS. The extended target date to switch to the new Form CMS 1500 (08-05) is June 1, 2007, but it is not set in stone.

Just a “heads up” that Contractors will not process claims submitted on an incorrectly formatted CMS 1500 (08-05). They will be returned to the provider in order to alert them to the situation, and prompting them to talk to their form supplier.

The CMS notice further states: “The best way to identify if your CMS-1500 (08-05) version forms are correct is by looking at the upper right hand corner of the form. On properly formatted claim forms, there will be approximately a ¼” gap between the tip of the red arrow above the vertically stacked word “CARRIER” and the top edge of the paper. If the tip of the red arrow is touching or close to touching the top edge of the paper, then the form is not printed to specifications.