Beneficiary Wishes to Refund in Installments

110.8 - Beneficiary Wishes to Refund in Installments (Rev. 13183; Issued: 04-24-25; Effective: 05-27-25; Implementation: 05-27-25) The term Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) is a general term describing a beneficiary’s Medicare identification number. A. General If an overpaid beneficiary states that they are unable to refund the full amount of an overpayment at one time, regular monthly installment payments are acceptable. The amount and frequency of the installments should be in reasonable relationship to the amount of the overpayment. Normally, the installments should be large enough to effectively recover within 3 years; however, the contractor shall allow a longer installment period if the beneficiary is willing to refund at least $50 per month. In notifying a beneficiary that they can refund an overpayment by installments, the contractor shall specify the amount (not less than $10) and the number of monthly installments necessary to recover the overpayment. NOTE: These provisions for repayment in installments do not apply to overpayments for which providers are liable. The contractor shall exercise care in distinguishing between a request for repayment in installments, and a request for waiver. Where a beneficiary states that they cannot afford an installment of at least $10 per month, or that they can afford installments of $10 to $50 per month but the overpayment is so large that recovery would take substantially more than 3 years, the contractor shall treat such statement as a request for waiver. (See §110.9 of this chapter) B. Notification of Installment Schedule When agreement is reached with a beneficiary for refund by installments, the contractor shall notify the beneficiary of the installment schedule. Request the beneficiary to sign an installment agreement such as the one in paragraph C below. It shall give one copy of the agreement to the beneficiary and retain the other. C. Suggested Installment Agreement _________________________ __________________________ Name of Overpaid Beneficiary Medicare Beneficiary Identifier Beneficiary's Address I hereby agree to repay my Medicare overpayment totaling $ ____________ to (contractor’s name), which will receive the payments on behalf of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. My payments will be made as follows: DATE PAYMENT DUE (Month, Day, Year) Amount of Payment ____________________ ___________________ ____________________ ___________________ ____________________ ___________________ ________________________ Signature of Beneficiary _____________ Date D. Beneficiary Fails to Remit Installments If the beneficiary fails to remit two consecutive installments, or after remitting the overdue installments, fails to remit any subsequent installments, the contractor shall ask the beneficiary the reason for the lapse. If it does not receive a response within 30 days or is informed that the beneficiary is unable to continue paying any installments the statement should be treated as a waiver request. If the contractor learns that the beneficiary is deceased, see §110.7 of this chapter. E. Beneficiary Can No Longer Afford Installment Amount but Can Afford a Lesser Amount If the beneficiary notifies the contractor that they can no longer afford to pay the agreed-upon installments but can afford a lesser amount, the contractor shall set up a new agreement, provided the new installment is at least $10 per month, and large enough to effect recovery of the remainder of the overpayment within approximately 3 years after the date of the new installment agreement.