Covering the Bases: Highmark is a claims contractor

Q: What is Highmark Medicare Services? Every time I get a Medicare Summary Notice (MSN), the return address has that name on it, and it says they are a CMS contractor.

A: Highmark Medicare Services is the local contractor that handles Medicare Part B claims for patients in this area. The company is located in Camp Hill, Pa. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) doesn't actually do the paperwork for the billions of claims that are sent for Medicare services. Instead, they contract with companies throughout the United States and its territories to handle that paperwork, following...