Exceptions Allowing Extension of Time Limit

Medicare regulations at 42 C.F.R. §424.44(b) allow for the following exceptions to the 1 calendar year time limit for filing fee for service claims:

(1) Administrative error, if failure to meet the filing deadline was caused by error or misrepresentation of an employee, Medicare contractor, or agent of the Department that was performing Medicare functions and acting within the scope of its authority (See 70.7.1).

(2) Retroactive Medicare entitlement, where a beneficiary receives notification of Medicare entitlement retroactive to or before the date the service was furnished. For example, at the time services were furnished the beneficiary was not entitled to Medicare. However, after the timely filing period has expired, the beneficiary subsequently receives notification of Medicare entitlement effective retroactively to or before the date of the furnished service (See 70.7.2).

(3) Retroactive Medicare entitlement involving State Medicaid Agencies, where a State Medicaid Agency recoups payment from a provider or supplier 6 months or more after the date the service was furnished to a dually eligible beneficiary. For example, at the time the service was furnished the beneficiary was only entitled to Medicaid and not to Medicare. Subsequently, the beneficiary receives notification of Medicare entitlement effective retroactively to or before the date of the furnished service. The State Medicaid Agency recoups its money from the provider or supplier and the provider or supplier cannot submit the claim to Medicare, because the the timely filing limit has expired

Retroactive disenrollment from a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan or Program of All-inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) provider organization, where a beneficiary was enrolled in an MA plan or PACE provider organization, but later was disenrolled from the MA plan or PACE provider organization retroactive to or before the date the service was furnished, and the MA plan or PACE provider organization recoups it payment from a provider or supplier 6 months or more after the date the service was furnished

The conditions for meeting each exception, and a description of how filing extensions will be calculated, are described in sections 70.7.1 – 70.7.4.


Where the initial request for an exception to the timely filing limit is made by a provider or supplier, the Medicare contractor has responsibility for determining whether a late claim may be honored based on all pertinent documentation submitted by the provider or supplier, and for the exceptions described in sections 70.7.2 and 70.7.3, based on its review of the relevant information contained in the Common Working File (CWF) database. As explained in sections 70.7.1 – 70.7.4, the contractor will determine if the requirements for a particular exception are met. However, in certain circumstances, the contractor may contact the appropriate CMS regional office (RO) to ascertain whether it wants to participate in the review and decision-making of the specific exception request. In limited circumstances, the RO may conclude that the exception request should go to CMS Central Office for a final determination.