US · guidance
CMS Pub. 100-06, ch. 3, § 170.4
Recovery Where Physician or Other Individual Practitioner Is Deceased -
Carrier Only
(Rev. 29, 01-02-04)
Where a physician or other individual practitioner who is liable for an overpayment dies, the
overpayment should be withheld from other Medicare payments due their estate. If recovery is not
possible by recoupment, the carrier shall ascertain whether an administrator or executor has been
appointed and then send a letter to the estate of the decedent at the address of the legal representative, if
known, or the last known address of the deceased.
If the reply to the letter indicates that the estate will not refund the overpayment, or if a reply is not
received within 30 days, the case should be forwarded to CMS for possible litigation. When referring
such overpayments, the carrier shall include any information about the appointment of a legal
representative, the size of the estate, etc., and copies of any correspondence with survivors or others
concerning the overpayment.
History
(Rev. 29, 01-02-04)
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-25
- Edition
- iom-2026-08-25
- Content hash
c8a563201bff1b9d50ba6a70f0ba2e086d015b45adcde8be8ef34bc60c5ea1fd
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