Regardless of the length of time or amount of the erroneous fees charged, the payee
must refund the excess amounts to the beneficiary immediately upon discovery.
The payee must furnish proof to the FO that the payee refunded the amount in question
to the beneficiary(ies). The beneficiary can, in the form of a canceled check or a
receipt, sign proof that the payee returned the excess fees.
FO’s should monitor these payees closely. Documentation of the erroneous charges and
refund action must be kept in the paper precedent file and recorded in the eRPS. If
unable to resolve the excess fees, the FO should initiate development for a new payee
and investigate and develop for possible misuse of benefits.
EXCEPTION: A FFS organization may collect a fee of more than the prescribed monthly amount when
a retroactive payment is made for a prior period of nonpayment or incorrect payment
and the organization:
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•
is a FFS payee approved to collect a fee for the months for which payment is made,
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•
provided payee services in the months for which payment is made as defined in GN 00502.113A, and
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•
is payee of record when the retroactive payment is received.
Use scheduled yearly rates when determining retroactive fees unless the 10 percent
provision applies.