Dear Members,
Please note that the Common Working File (CWF) will be unavailable from Friday, January 4, through Sunday, January 6, 2019, allowing for the completion of regularly scheduled data processing and the implementation of the January 2019 Release. Palmetto GBA has advised:
NOTE: On January 6, 2019, the onlines will be available for the Health Insurance Master Record (HIMR), Beneficiary Data Streamlining (BDS) and the MBI/HICN crosswalk, but no CWF cycles will be run. This means Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will not have access to HIMR and BDS transactions. Eligibility information in Health Insurance Query Access (HIQA) and Health Insurance Queries for HHAs (HIQH) will also not be available to providers.
The dark days will not affect your ability to access beneficiary eligibility information through Palmetto GBA’s eServices. In addition, the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) will be available. Palmetto GBA’s PCC will not have access to CWF and cannot assist providers with CWF information, such as beneficiary eligibility and beneficiary verification for claim detail.
- The CWF Host will hold the claims received from MACs on Thursday, January 3, 2019, and Friday, January 4, 2019.
- Friday, January 4, 2019, through Sunday, January 6, 2019, will be "Dark Days" for the CWF Host with no onlines available except the MBI/HIC crosswalk region. There will be no access to the HIMR inquiry or BDS transactions.
- The CWF Host will start the installation of the CWF January 2019 release on Friday, January 4, 2019, and complete the installation on Sunday, January 6, 2019.
The
Common Working File is the Medicare Part A and Part B beneficiary benefits coordination and pre-payment claims validation system, which uses localized databases maintained by designated contractors called ‘CWF Hosts’. The CWF System software is duplicated and utilized by the nine CWF Hosts localized databases to process claims.
Each Medicare beneficiary is assigned to only one Host site based on beneficiary geographic location. CWF Hosts maintain total beneficiary claim history and entitlement information for the beneficiaries in their jurisdiction.
Please review
Palmetto GBA's article here for a complete list of events scheduled during this January Release.
Thank you!