Opting out of Medicare and current opt-out listing

As provided in §4507 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, a "private contract" is a contract between a Medicare beneficiary an eligible practitioner who has "opted out" of Medicare for two years for all covered items and services he or she furnishes to Medicare beneficiaries. In a private contract, the Medicare beneficiary agrees to give up Medicare payment for services furnished by the eligible practitioner and to pay the eligible practitioner without regard to any limits that would otherwise apply to what the eligible practitioner could charge.

Opt-out listings

The opt-out listing is updated on a quarterly basis. For a list of all physicians and practitioners that are currently opted out of Medicare, please review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opt-out affidavit listing. The listing can be searched in several ways and is easy to use.

If you are an opt-out provider and cannot locate your information, please contact us.  

Affidavit

To opt-out, eligible practitioners must submit an opt-out affidavit. This would result in their election to opt-out for a mandated two years from the Medicare program and the opt-out will be automatically renewed every two years. Therefore, eligible practitioners are not required to file renewal affidavits every two years. If electing not to extend their opt-out status at the end of a two year opt out period, they may cancel by notifying all Medicare contractors with which they filed an affidavit, in writing, at least 30 days prior to the start date of the next two year opt-out period. For more information on opting out/private contracting, please review the CMS quick reference chart.

An example affidavit is provided for consideration. The terms of the affidavit should be carefully reviewed for compliance by all eligible practitioners who are considering opting out of Medicare. The affidavit may be mailed or faxed to us. Opting out using the online methods is not available.

Our mailing address and fax number for customers:

Mail: First Coast Service Options
Provider Enrollment Services
PO Box 3409
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-1849

Fax Number: 904-361-0737