Bill Paying Procedures

(1) Departments shall date-stamp all invoices received. The date centered on the invoice shall be the date the invoice was received by the department except that invoices delivered on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or "skeleton days" as defined byAdministrative Bulletin 85-3, shall be stamped with the date of the next business day. (2) All departments, except the Department of Public Welfare, the Commission of the Blind, and other departments procuring the service of qualified Medicaid providers as determined by the Office of the Comptroller, shall within 15 calendar days from the date of receipt of the invoice confirm the following: (a) that the invoice was submitted according to the contractual terms after the delivery of the goods and/or services; (b) the goods and/or services were delivered in accordance with the contract and the required documentation, if any, was submitted with the invoice, and; (c) the charges are accurate (3) For services rendered by Medicaid providers specifically exempted in 4.05(2) SUPRA, said departments shall have 30 days from the receipt of the invoice to approve or disapprove the invoice as provided in 815 CMR 4.05(2) and 4.05(4). (4) If any of the requirements in 815 CMR 4.05(2)(a) through (c) have not been confirmed then a copy of the invoice with a letter explaining the defect or impropriety and the method for curing same shall be sent by the department to the vendor no later than 15 calendar days from the receipt of the invoice. The letter must provide the name and telephone number of a contact person to assist the vendor. The department shall retain the original invoice for its records. The vendor must resubmit the invoice after the defect or impropriety is cured. The resubmitted invoice shall be date stamped as provided in 815 CMR 4.05(1) and reviewed as provided in 815 CMR 4.05(7). (6) If the vendor believes that the invoice was improperly rejected, the vendor shall telephone the department contact person immediately. If the department after, reconsideration of the rejected invoice agrees that said invoice was properly submitted, then it shall process the invoice for payment as provider in 815 CMR 4.05(7). (7) If the department discovers a defect or impropriety after the 15th day from the receipt of the invoice but before the payment date, the department shall telephone the vendor immediately to notify the vendor of the problem and shall confirm that oral conversation in writing. The vendor shall be afforded the opportunity to cure as provided in the contract and mayresubmit the invoice after the cure. The department's failure to notify the vendor of a defect or impropriety within 15 days will not obligate the Commonwealth to pay for goods and/or services not delivered in accordance with the contract or goods and/or services not ordered or legally authorized. (8) If the department confirms both the delivery of goods and/or services, and that the invoice was properly submitted and accurate, then the department shall process the invoice for payment in accordance with the Office of the Comptroller’s policies and procedures, and other supplementary instructions which are issued periodically by the Office of the Comptroller. The payment date must be scheduled for a warrant date which does not exceed the contractual payment period (or if no date is specified therein, 45 days). The calculable time frame for determining when to schedule the payment for the warrant is from the date of receipt of the invoice to the warrant date. If a vendor, who after submission of an invoice pursuant to applicable time frames delineated in 815 CMR 4.05(2) and (4), neither receives payment within 60 days nor a departmental decision not to honor the invoice as prescribed in 815 CMR 4.05(3), (5), (6) and (7) inclusive, then the vendor should contact the department contact officer. If it is determined that the payment was delayed due solely to departmental error, the department shall immediately process the invoice for payment and shall notify the vendor in writing of the warrant date on which the payment has been scheduled. The vendor may exercise its rights to make a demand for late penalty interest as provided in 815 CMR 4.06(1) through (6). With the exception of Medicaid providers, if the rate setting commission grants a retroactive rate adjustment, the vendor shall invoice the department for any sums now owing to the vendor. The department shall have 45 days from the receipt of the invoice to make payment of the sums owing to the vendor. Retroactive rate adjustments granted by the Rate Setting Commission to Medicaid providers shall be processed by the department as soon as practicable after the date the rate is received. In no event shall the processing of Medicaid retroactive rate adjustments occur later than 60 days after the rate is received. (12) If no general appropriation bill is in effect at the beginning of the Commonwealth's fiscal year (July 1st) the department shall date stamp and retain all invoices received for goods and/or services rendered in the new fiscal year according to instructions issued by the Office of the Comptroller. Invoices received for the prior fiscal year shall be processed as accounts payable items in accordance to instructions issued annually by the Office of the Comptroller. Vendors should be notified in writing that invoices for the new fiscal year will be processed as soon as the Office of the Comptroller notifies departments that funds have become legally available.