Site Help

Welcome to our site help page. If you do not find the answer to your most frequently asked technical questions, please submit them using our Site Feedback form.

Take the NGSMedicare.com Web Site Tour
Site Optimization
Site Navigation
Site Features
Site Search Tools
File Formats and Icons Used in This Web Site

Take the NGSMedicare.com Web Site Tour

View a step-by-step tour of the NGSMedicare Web site by downloading a printer-friendly copy of the NGSMedicare.com Web Site Tour. (6.52 MB) This helpful resource provides detailed information on:

site access;
home page features;
using the site;
Medicare University; and
site search tools.

The tour is available in a printer-friendly PDF format, so you can view it online or print and review at your own pace!

NGSMedicare.com Web Site Tour (6.52 MB)

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Site Optimization/System Requirements

The NGSMedicare.com Web site is supported by the following Web browsers:

Internet Explorer versions 7–9
Firefox versions 2–18
Safari versions 5–6

This Web site is best viewed with a screen resolution set to 1024 × 768.

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Site Navigation

Breadcrumb Navigation: The breadcrumb navigation is located above Quick Links and tracks the path you follow as you navigate our site.

Quick Links Navigation: Quick Links navigation provides convenient access to Web pages and/or applications that receive large numbers of search requests. Quick Links are specific to each line of business and are accessible throughout your site experience.

Top Primary Navigation: The primary top navigation menu appears next to the breadcrumb navigation and is available on almost all pages of the Web site. The top navigation offers immediate access to frequently used and requested site tools, resources, and information. The top navigation menu for all lines of business includes:

Home
Resources
Enrollment, and
Solutions*

Left Primary Navigation: The left navigation is located below the Quick Links navigation.

The left navigation menu for all lines of business includes:

Publications
Claims
Coverage Determinations
Education and Training, and
Review Process

Selecting the primary navigation links will result in either expanding or collapsing the corresponding secondary navigation options.*

Secondary Navigation: The secondary navigation for all lines of business is located under the primary navigation and is available on almost all pages of the Web site. To access the site’s secondary navigation simply click on the name of the secondary navigation link.*

*Note: Currently, the top and left navigation do not appear when viewing the following pages:

Attestation page
Electronic data interchange online forms
Training Events Calendar

Footer Navigation: The site’s global footer navigation consists of two lines and includes:

Line 1: About Us, Contact Us, Get Adobe Reader, Privacy Policy, Site Feedback, Site Help, Site Map
Line 2: People with Medicare and Congressional Offices

Site Map: Use the Site Map navigation to view a list of all top and left primary navigation, along with links to secondary, People with Medicare, and Congressional Offices information.

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Site Features

Change Business Type: Update the Medicare line of business selection from almost all pages of the Web site!
Content Filtering: Offers expanded filtering options such as year and/or effective date in key areas, including Fee Schedules and News Articles.

Self-Service Center: Offers line of business-specific content based on the following category options:

Calculators
Education
Eligibility
Enrollment
Forms
Hot Topics
IVR
Transactions

Latest Production Alerts: Displays production-related issues, such as standard system claims edits affecting claims processing, remittance posting issues, payment issues, etc. Issues will remain viewable for a designated time frame.

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Site Search Tools

The following search tools are available to help you locate information efficiently:

General Site Keyword Search: Allows you to search most areas of general content on our Web site, including the News Articles and other publications.

Advanced Search: Offers a layer of search capabilities which allow you to perform targeted searches. This is done through the inclusion of several fields similar to what you see on the Google advanced search page at http://www.google.com. External

News Articles Search: A keyword and filtering search mechanism exclusive to the News article index. The keyword feature searches both the article titles and content, while the filtering options allow you to tailor your searches to a specific region, article source, and incremental time frames. You can sort results by article titles, posted date, and source.

Part A and Part B Medical Policy Center Keyword Search: This feature allows you to search within local coverage determinations (LCD) and supplemental instruction articles (SIA) by using a variety of keywords, e.g., by CMS Identifier (L number or A number), title, keyword, as well as HCPCS, CPT, or ICD-9 codes, to locate policy-related information easily. Part A, Part B, home health, hospice, and federally qualified health centers must initiate all LCD and SIA searches from the Medical Policy Center page

DME Medical Policy Center Keyword Search: Suppliers can search for LCD and policy article (PA)-related information by using the general site keyword search form field. Input relevant keyword information, e.g., CMS Identifier (L number or A number), LCD/PA title, HCPCS, CPT, or ICD-9 codes, to quickly locate LCD/PA information.

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File Formats and Icons Used in This Web Site

File Format Icons

There are several different downloadable file formats used on our Web site, including:

Text format miscellaneous multimedia
Adobe portable document format (.pdf)
Excel (.xls)
MP3 (.mp3)
Word documents (.doc)
Comma separated value (.csv)
Plain-text format (.txt)
Zip (.zip)

Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf): PDF files are used for viewing and printing content and forms.

To view a PDF file, you need either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Adobe Reader free of charge from the Adobe Web site at http://get.adobe.com/reader/. External

Word Documents (.doc): Word documents are used for displaying textual information the user can easily recreate on their organization’s letterhead stationery, e.g., forms for patient distribution.

To view a Microsoft Word file, you need Microsoft Word or Word Viewer installed on the computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Microsoft Word Viewer free of charge from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=3657ce88-7cfa-457a-9aec-f4f827f20cac&displaylang=en. External

Plain-Text Format (.txt): Plain-text files are used for viewing and/or uploading fee schedule data.

When a.TXT file is double-clicked, a text editor, such as Notepad, should appear, allowing you to view and/or edit the contents of the file.

Excel (.xls): Excel files are used for displaying data in workbooks, worksheets, and forms.

To view a Microsoft Excel file, you need Microsoft Excel or Excel Viewer installed on the computer. If you do not have the necessary software installed, you can download Microsoft Excel Viewer free of charge from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=1cd6acf9-ce06-4e1c-8dcf-f33f669dbc3a&displaylang=en. External

Zip (.zip): Zip files are used to store files together and to compress the size of the files.

To extract data from a Zip file you need to have WinZip installed on the computer. To download a free copy of WinZip go to: http://www.winzip.com/prod_down.htm. External

MP3 (.mp3): MP3 files allow the playing of sound files such as recorded teleconference or Webinar training event audio narration.

There are many different MP3 players available, either software for personal computers or portable media players.