Countdown begins for Blues retiring local system

	Countdown to local system retirement
	5 months
All claims filed on the local system must be submitted and received by Sept. 15, 2014, in order to be processed. For more details, please see the March 2014 Record article.

The Blues will retire its local system on Oct. 31, 2014. Since we will no longer process claims on that system, all claims filed on the local system must be submitted and received by Sept. 15, 2014, in order to be processed.

It’s imperative that all health care providers follow claim-filing deadlines. If you submit a claim after the filing limits, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will not offer any special handling or filing extensions, and no payment will be due from BCBSM or the subscriber.

Clarification: We received some questions from health care providers after publishing an article on this topic in the March 2014 Record. Please note that both Medicare Advantage and local group numbers contain five digits. If the member’s ID card does not indicate Medicare Advantage on it, it’s a local group number — and it’s among those that will be discontinued as part of the retirement of the local system. If you have any questions, please contact your provider consultant.