February 20, 2013 – Reviewed 12.07.22
Paperwork (PWK) Implementation: Submitting Additional Documentation with Electronic Claims
If CGS requires additional documentation to be submitted with your claim (other than documentation that may be included in the electronic documentation field), you have two options for submitting the required documentation: wait for CGS to request the documentation through an Additional Documentation Request (ADR) letter, or follow the PWK segment process to fax or mail additional supporting documentation. When you choose to use the PWK segment process to submit your additional, supporting documentation for electronically submitted claims, you will identify the documentation using the PWK Segment at the claim level (Loop 2300) or line level (Loop 2400). The PWK segment will allow documentation to be submitted for an initial claim. The documentation will be imaged to be available while the claim is being processed.
The PWK process requires you to submit certain information on your electronic claim and supporting information via fax or mail. NOTE: This process is for claims processing ONLY. Do not use it for other functions such a Redeterminations, Reopenings, or any other function. If you receive an ADR letter, return the requested information to CGS by mail. Faxing information to the PWK fax line in response to an ADR letter may cause delays in processing your claim.
Faxing or Mailing Additional Documentation
Use the standard PWK Fax/Mail Cover Sheet,
- Complete all fields on the cover sheet. CGS will return PWK cover sheets with missing or inaccurate information.
- No modifications may be made to this cover sheet.
- We will not return documentation that accompanies a rejected PWK cover sheet.
- Important: you must send the appropriate PWK cover sheet and medical documentation separately for each individual claim. Fax your documentation separately (using a separate fax cover sheet for each claim).
- Claims submitted with a PWK segment that would not otherwise suspend for review and/or additional development will be processed in accordance with our established procedures and will not be held for the 7- or 10-day waiting period. Therefore, do NOT fax documentation unless it is required for the service being processed.
Electronic Claim Requirements (Loop 2300 & Loop 2400)
In PWK segment claim level (Loop 2300) or line level (Loop 2400), use the following data elements to identify that a paper attachment is forthcoming:
PWK 01 (Attachment Report Type Code - Required) – Values are listed below:
CODE DEFINITION
03 | Report Justifying Treatment Beyond Utilization Guidelines |
04 | Drugs Administered |
05 | Treatment Diagnosis |
06 | Initial Assessment |
07 | Functional Goals |
08 | Plan of Treatment |
09 | Progress Report |
10 | Continued Treatment |
11 | Chemical Analysis |
13 | Certified Test Report |
15 | Justification for Admission |
21 | Recovery Plan |
A3 | Allergies/Sensitivities Document |
A4 | Autopsy Report |
AM | Ambulance Certification |
AS | Admission Summary |
B2 | Prescription |
B3 | Physician Order |
B4 | Referral Form |
BR | Benchmark Testing Results |
BS | Baseline |
BT | Blanket Test Results |
CB | Chiropractic Justification |
CK | Consent Form(s) |
CT | Certification |
D2 | Drug Profile Document |
DA | Dental Models |
DB | Durable Medical Equipment Prescription |
DG | Diagnostic Report |
DJ | Discharge Monitoring Report |
DS | Discharge Summary |
EB | Explanation of Benefits (Coordination of Benefits or Medicare Secondary Payer) |
HC | Health Certificate |
HR | Health Clinic Records |
I5 | Immunization Record |
IR | State School Immunization Records |
LA | Laboratory Results |
M1 | Medical Record Attachment |
MT | Models |
NN | Nursing Notes |
OB | Operative Note |
OC | Oxygen Content Averaging Report |
OD | Orders and Treatments Document |
OE | Objective Physical Examination (including vital signs) Document |
OX | Oxygen Therapy Certification |
OZ | Support Data for Claim |
P4 | Pathology Report |
P5 | Patient Medical History Document |
PE | Parenteral or Enteral Certification |
PN | Physical Therapy Notes |
PO | Prosthetics or Orthotic Certification |
PQ | Paramedical Results |
PY | Physician's Report |
PZ | Physical Therapy Certification |
RB | Radiology Films |
RR | Radiology Reports |
RT | Report of Tests and Analysis Report |
RX | Renewable Oxygen Content Averaging Report |
SG | Symptoms Document |
V5 | Death Notification |
XP | Photographs |
PWK 02 (Report Transmission Code - Required) – Values are listed below: | |
BM | By Mail |
FX | By Fax |
PWK 05 (Identification Code Qualifier – Required with PWK02) – Values are listed below: | |
AC | Attachment Control Number |
PWK 06 (Identification Code – Required with PWK02) – PWK06 is a value assigned by the provider to uniquely identify the documentation to be mailed or faxed. The maximum field length is 50. |
Other Important Information
- Faxing unsolicited documentation is entirely voluntary
Under current claim processing rules, if CGS determines that additional information is needed to complete proper adjudication of a claim (for instance, due to an audit), we will send you a development letter requesting additional documentation. This process will not change. If you believe your claim may result in a development request, we suggest (but do not require) that you fax documentation to accompany your initial electronic claim in order to expedite claim processing time. - The NTE (note) segment is still a valid option
Faxing unsolicited documentation is not always the best option for including additional claim information. The NTE (note) segment of an electronic claim is currently available for you to include notes and information that may be important for the proper adjudication of the claim. If you can use the NTE segment instead of the faxing documentation, we encourage you to do so. - Do not fax unsolicited documentation unless CGS has specifically indicated it is needed
Medicare rules and regulations require that you keep certain documentation on file in order to support the medical necessity and justification of your claims (medical records, progress notes, etc.); however, you are not required to submit this documentation with your claims. We encourage you to only submit supporting claim documentation when you believe it may be required in order to correctly process your claim. Examples of when it might be appropriate to fax additional documentation along with your initial claim include, but are not limited to:
- Claims containing unlisted procedures (Not Otherwise Classified (NOC) procedures)
- Claims that include CPT modifier 22 or 53
- Claims requiring invoice information
- Claims for co-surgery, assistant surgery, or team surgery (only when the code being submitted has an indicator in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database (MPFSDB) signifying that supporting documentation for medical necessity for co-surgery, assistant surgery or team surgery)
- Faxing of documentation does not guarantee that CGS will review the submitted paperwork.
When processing your claims, we may look for additional information in the NTE segment in order to complete your claim; however, submitting information in the NTE segment or faxing documentation does not mean that we will always review the information. We will only review your additional information when it is needed in order to properly process payment. For instance, if a claim is submitted with a modifier that precludes payment for the service, the claim will be denied and we will not review additional supporting documentation.
Should you have questions regarding this process, please contact our Provider Contact Center at 1.866.276.9558.