When Medicare overpays physicians, they are responsible for voluntarily making refunds once aware, warns an Oct. 24 notice from Texas’ Medicare contractor.
Novitas Solutions instructs physicians to send the refund to the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). “Otherwise, an overpayment, which is a debt due to the Medicare program, will be established when the error is identified by the MAC,” the notice said.
Texas Medical Association staff point out while some physicians and practice administrators might be afraid that sending a refund will attract an audit, they interpret the note from Novitas as a reassurance for practices with those concerns.
The contractor notes Medicare administrators expect physicians to “exercise care when billing and accepting payment” and to “promptly bring incorrect payments to the MAC’s attention. These submissions acknowledge your awareness of this expectation and confirm a measure of compliance.”
The notice also warns physicians, per the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, “the acceptance of a voluntary refund in no way affects or limits the rights of the federal government or any of its agencies or agents to pursue any appropriate criminal, civil, or administrative remedies arising from or relating to these or any other claims.”
TMA member physicians can contact the Physician Payment Resource Center with any questions about payment, including payment issues needing resolution.
Last Updated On
November 13, 2025
Originally Published On
November 13, 2025
Phil West
Associate Editor
(512) 370-1394
phil.west[at]texmed[dot]org
Phil West is a writer and editor whose publications include the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, Austin American-Statesman, and San Antonio Express-News. He earned a BA in journalism from the University of Washington and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin’s James A. Michener Center for Writers. He lives in Austin with his wife, children, and a trio of free-spirited dogs.