Medicare Signature Requirements
Medicare requires the authentication of services provided and ordered by the person(s) responsible for the beneficiary’s care. Authentication means you must have valid signatures. But what constitutes a valid signature for Medicare claim purposes?
The Issue:
The COVID pandemic resulted in a 30% increase (19.5M people) in the number of Americans covered by Medicaid. The federal government supported states during that time by providing billions of dollars in additional Medicaid funding. However, it did so under the condition that states not disenroll any recipients for the duration of the Public Health Emergency. President Biden recently announced the pending end of the PHE, which has significant implications for Medicaid-covered individuals.
What You Need to Know:
There are only two acceptable forms of a valid signature:
1. A handwritten signature; or
2. An electronic signature.
Stamped signatures are not acceptable. There is an extremely limited exception to this rule in instances where the author of a note can provide proof to the DME MACs of their inability to physically sign a document. In such instances of disability, a rubber stamp is acceptable. However, to reiterate, this is a very narrow exception that will require detailed evidence supporting your argument that the prescribing individual lacks the physical ability to sign a document.
What This Means for You:
If you are using a stamped signature and you do not have a disability that prevents you from physically signing notes or orders, you are non-compliant with Medicare’s requirements. If a Medicare contractor determines that you are using a stamp and you fall outside the aforementioned exception, all amounts paid for claims with the stamped signature will get clawed back.
Keep it simple: sign documents by hand or use an electronic signature. Following this simple rule will keep you on the right side of the signature line.