Medicare Cost Reports & PS & R
With over 19 years of experience preparing Medicare cost reports, Walters Financial Services, Inc.’s President has the expertise to accurately file your cost report. The company services cost reporting clients throughout the United States and prides itself on a 100% acceptance rate by all fiscal intermediaries.
What is a Medicare Cost Report? (Click Here!)
Due dates? (Click Here!)
How to Obtain your PS&R? (Click Here!)
What is a Medicare Cost Report?
The cost report is an annual report submitted by all institutional providers participating in the Medicare program. The report is submitted on prescribed forms, depending on the type of provider (for example, hospital, skilled nursing facility, etc.). The cost information and statistical data reported must be current, accurate and in sufficient detail to support an accurate determination of payments made for the services rendered. The cost report contains provider information such as facility characteristics, utilization data, and financial statement data. CMS maintains the cost report data in the Healthcare Provider Cost Reporting Information System (HCRIS). The Medicare Cost Report records each institution’s total costs and charges associated with providing services to all patients, the portion of those costs and charges allocated to Medicare patients, and the Medicare payments received.
How to obtain your PS&R
The Provider Statistical & Reimbursement (PS&R) system, which accumulates statistical and payment data for Medicare providers has been redesigned, and PS&R reports are now available on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website. Fiscal Intermediaries/Medicare Administrative Contractors (FIs/MACs) will no longer issue PS&R summary reports used in filing for cost reporting periods, as had been the case in prior years. Providers must register to access the redesigned PS&R system and receive their PS&R reports for filing the Medicare cost report.
To begin the process to access the redesigned PS&R system, providers must register in IACS (Individuals Authorized Access to the CMS Computer Services), the CMS security system. The first step is to designate a Security Official for your organization. Follow these steps to register your Security Official:
- Go to: https://applications.cms.hhs.gov/home.html.
- Select [Account Management] on the CMS Application Portal Introduction screen.
- Select [New User Registration] on the Account Management screen.
- Select [PS&R/STAR] on the New User Registration menu.
- Accept the terms and conditions.
- On the next screen, select [I work for a Medicare Provider, and I want to register for PS&R], and click [Next].
- Enter your personal information the new User Registration screen.
- Obtain your IACS Verification code from your email. Please note: that the email is computer generated and may be in your spam folder.
- Enter the verification code and click [next].
- Enter your Professional contact information. Please note: Your Facility Name must match exactly to your IRS Notice CP 575.
- Under Access Request, click on the small triangle inside the box next to role and select [PS&R Security Official] from the dropdown menu.
- Ensure Create an Organization is check below.
- A new window will open. This may take some time, do not refresh. Enter your Organizational Information. Please note the following:
- TIN/SNN is your Tax ID Number
- Legal Business Name: Must Match your CP575 Form Exactly.
- PTAN/CCN is your CMS Provider Number without dashes.
- Justification for Action: Enter PS&R Access
- Click [Next]
- Answer the security questions and click [Next].
- Print the summary page for your records and click [Submit].
- Print the confirmation code for your records.
Once the Security Official completes the online registration, he or she should receive the following email regarding what information must be mailed to IACS (this message should come within one to two days after registration, so if it is not received in that time frame, check your junk / spam mail folder or check with your IT department):
This email is in reference to your submitted IACS request with the following Request Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXIn order to process your submitted IACS request, a copy of your organization’s CP575 form from the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) is required. The CP575 is the letter sent by the IRS when a Tax Identification Number is issued. If you cannot locate your CP575, contact the IRS for a copy of your IRS Federal Tax Deposit Coupon, IRS 147C letter, or other official IRS document which verifies the taxpayer identification number and legal business name of your organization. The phone number is 1-800-829-4933.
Mail a copy of the IRS CP575 (or appropriate substitute) to CMS’ External User Services (EUS), which will be facilitating the registration process. Be sure to write your IACS Request Number near the top of the IRS Document you are sending.EUS can be contacted at the following address and telephone number:
External User Services
P.O. Box 792750
San Antonio, TX 78216
Phone: 1-866-484-8049
TYY: 1-866-523-4759
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.”>EUSSupport@cgi.com
The Security Official must submit the data to complete the approval process. Once the final approval is completed for the Security Official, the User Group Administrator should then follow the instructions specific to his/her role for registering in IACS…
In some instances, several important steps have been missed when registering in IACS, including:
Once a User Group Administrator or End User completes IACS registration, he or she must then complete the PS&R application in order to access the PS&R system. To do this, follow these steps:
- Go to the CMS Application Portal website here;
- Read the information on the page and then select “Enter CMS Applications Portal”;
- Select “Account Management” in the menu bar at the top of the page;
- Select “My Profile”;
- Enter your IACS user ID and password;
- Select “Modify Account Profile”;
- Select “Access Request” from the “Select Action” drop-down menu;
- Select “Add Application”; and
- Select “PS&R”.
Additional Helpful Links for the Redesigned PS&R
Registration is done here.
For problems/ issues with registration, contact the IACS Help Desk at 1-866-484-8049 or email.
Once registered, PS&R reports are available by logging into the PS&R website here.
For more information, visit CMS’ PS&R website here.
Medicare cost Report Due Dates
Medicare cost reports are generally due five (5) months after a fiscal year end. For example, if your fiscal year end is December 31, your Medicare cost report would be due May 31. There are exceptions (ex. Change of Ownership).