ACCMA News

Aetna to Terminate Physician Payments by Check

Aetna informed contracted physicians on February 1 that the option of receiving payment by check will no longer be available and is asking providers to choose either electric funds transfer (EFT) or virtual credit card (VCC). Previously hardship exemptions had been allowed. If they are not already enrolled in an electronic payment method, physicians will be notified of their specific enrollment deadline for an electronic payment option; if none is chosen, providers will automatically be enrolled in virtual credit card payments. VCC payments are subject to transaction and interchange fees on the receiving end, which can run as high as 5 percent per transaction for physician practices. EFT is similar to direct deposit, and each EFT transaction carries only one fee of about 34 cents. Physicians can enroll in EFT through EnrollHub�, a free multi-payor EFT portal. To read more, go to www.cmanet.org/news/detail/?article=act-now-to-avoid-costly-virtual-credit-card.