by Jared Staheli
June 18th, 2015
Occasionally programming errors will occur which cause inaccuracies on MSNs that do not materially affect benefits. An example of a potential programming error could be one data column writing in another data column. So long as the claims are correctly paid and the notice is intelligible, it is not necessary to identify the impacted MSNs or reissue them. The resources to identify and reissue all of the documents would not be justified.
In situations where contractors feel reissuance is absolutely necessary, they must work with their regional office to identify costs involved before proceeding. When such problems occur, contractors must take actions that will inform beneficiaries of the situation. These actions should fall within the framework of routine operations. Such actions include, but are not limited to, fielding calls from beneficiaries and alerting customer service representatives of the situation and posting an alert on contractors’ local Web sites. While not all of these solutions may be possible, contractors should take the most appropriate steps to best mitigate the potential confusion, but not incur special costs. Any communication regarding this type of situation should convey that it was a temporary programming error, which has been fixed, and is believed not to have affected the beneficiary’s benefits.
A beneficiary may call the contractor to request a copy of the MSN with the correct information. In such cases, the contractor will provide one.
References:
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