Electronic funds transfer and electronic remittance advice FAQs
Program enrollment
- What is EFT/ERA?
- What are the benefits of receiving EFT/ERA?
- How do I enroll?
- What is Payment Accelerator?
- Is enrolling for EFT/ERA required?
- Is there a cost to receive EFT/ERA with Payment Accelerator?
- Who is U.S. Bank?
- Who is InstaMed?
Transition
- When will I see my first electronic payment?
- Why did I receive a paper check? I have already submitted my enrollment form.
- Can I have ERA sent through my clearinghouse?
- Do I have to set up a direct connection if my clearinghouse is not on your ERA clearinghouses list?
- I changed my bank account after I enrolled for Payment Accelerator. What should I do if I am already receiving EFT/ERA?
- What training is available to use Payment Accelerator?
- I want additional staff to have access to Payment Accelerator. How can I make that happen?
Process
- I signed up for EFT/ERA. How does it work?
- What additional payers can I receive EFT/ERA from using Payment Accelerator?
- How do I match a deposit in my bank account to the remittance advice?
- I am missing a payment in Payment Accelerator. What should I do?
- I can't find a remittance in Payment Accelerator. What should I do?
Program and enrollment
What is EFT/ERA?
Electronic funds transfer (EFT) and electronic remittance advice (ERA) send money and remittances between payers, such as Kaiser Permanente, and providers electronically. EFT moves the money, and ERA is the detailed explanation of payment (EOP). Additionally, EFT/ERA includes a trace number linking the EFT and ERA.
What are the benefits of receiving EFT/ERA?
EFT/ERA helps you get paid faster because your payments are deposited directly in to your bank account. You will also receive your remittance information and explanation of payment (EOP) electronically as an ERA. With EFT/ERA, you receive every electronic payment detail you need, including the trace number linking the ERA and EFT for automated reconciliation. You will have access to Payment Accelerator, a secure portal to view and print remittances and transaction details from multiple payers. Payments and remittances are available online for two years.
How do I enroll?
Enroll for EFT/ERA through Payment Accelerator:
- Enroll online for Payment Accelerator, a free service, to start receiving benefits immediately.
- Or, download the Network Funding Agreement attach a voided check or bank letter and fax them to U.S. Bank toll-free at 1-877-755-3392.
What is Payment Accelerator?
Payment Accelerator is a secure portal to view and print payment and remittance information from multiple payers. When you enroll for EFT/ERA, you will receive login credentials to access Payment Accelerator.
Is enrolling for EFT/ERA required?
You are not required to enroll to receive EFT/ERA. However, we recommend that you enroll to receive EFT/ERA with Payment Accelerator, so you can receive your payment and remittance information faster.
Is there a cost to receive EFT/ERA with Payment Accelerator?
No, this is a free service.
Who is U.S. Bank?
U.S. Bank is the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States with total assets of $355 billion. We have partnered with U.S. Bank to send your EFT to your bank account.
Who is InstaMed?
We have partnered with InstaMed to deliver payment solutions to providers. InstaMed is a healthcare payments network and full service clearinghouse. They process payments for 1,500+ hospitals, 70,000+ practices/clinics and 100+ billing services; connects to 3,000+ payers; and integrates with 60+ practice management systems.
If you register for the Payer Payments solution with InstaMed, you can receive these payments as a direct deposit, at no cost. By registering, you will receive these payments faster and alleviate merchant processing fees associated with the Claim Payment Cards.
Transition
When will I see my first electronic payment?
All enrollment forms take 7 to 10 business days after they are received to be processed. You may receive checks between sending in the enrollment form and before your account is activated.
Once InstaMed receives your enrollment form, they apply a rigorous security review to validate the accuracy of the data submitted. For your security, InstaMed compares TIN and NPI databases against national registries. To ensure they have the correct bank account, a $0.01 deposit will be sent to your account for testing and to confirm the connection to your bank is accurate.
Why did I receive a paper check? I have already submitted my enrollment form.
If you have sent in your form, it can take up to 10 business days for your account enrollment to be live in InstaMed's system. In addition, payment files are sent over the course of a week. Sometimes, you may receive a check due to the timing of a payer-payment cycle. For instance, if your account goes live on a Wednesday and the payment file was submitted on the previous Monday, you will receive a paper check.
Additionally, EFT/ERA is generated by TIN and NPI values, if the TIN and NPI differ between databases, you may receive a check. Please contact InstaMed Customer Service toll-free at 1-877-833-6821 or e-mail support@instamed.com to confirm the TIN and NPI associated with your account.
Can I have ERA sent through my clearinghouse?
InstaMed can send remittances through many clearinghouses. Please check InstaMed ERA Clearinghouses for the list of clearinghouses they have a direct connection with. If you do not see your clearinghouse on this list, please contact you clearinghouse so that InstaMed can work to establish an indirect connection and maintain your current routing.
Do I have to set up a direct connection if my clearinghouse is not on your ERA clearinghouses list?
You have three choices to receive ERA with Payment Accelerator:
- View and print ERA in Payment Accelerator
- Set up a direct Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) site
- Contact your clearinghouse to establish a connection with one of the clearinghouses on the InstaMed ERA Clearinghouses list. (Clearinghouses often establish connections to send remittances through other clearinghouses.)
I changed my bank account after I enrolled for Payment Accelerator. What should I do if I am already receiving EFT/ERA?
Contact InstaMed Customer Service toll-free at 1-877-833-6821 or e-mail support@instamed.com to update your bank account information.
What training is available to use Payment Accelerator?
You will find a link to a training video in your "welcome" e-mail and in Payment Accelerator.
I want additional staff to have access to Payment Accelerator. How can I make that happen?
Please contact your Payment Accelerator system administrator to set up access for additional staff. If you do not know your system administrator, contact InstaMed Customer Service toll-free at 1-877-833-6821 or e-mail support@instamed.com.
Process
I signed up for EFT/ERA. How does it work?
InstaMed will send your EFT to the bank account associated with the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or National Provider Identifier (NPI) indicated during your enrollment. You will receive an e-mail notification with a payment date and amount of the EFT a day before the payment is deposited to your account. Also, the e-mail notification will direct you to log in to Payment Accelerator to view remittance information. You can enroll to have remittances sent directly to you or the clearinghouse that you specify.
What additional payers can I receive EFT/ERA from using Payment Accelerator?
Request the list of payers currently in the network.
How do I match a deposit in my bank account to the remittance advice?
The EFT trace number enables you to match the payment to the ERA. This is a unique number included in the addenda record of the ACH payment and the remittance. Please contact your bank to ensure that you can receive ACH addenda reporting, which enables you to view the EFT trace number associated with the deposit in your account. In addition, this EFT trace number is displayed in Payment Accelerator and TRN02 segment of the remittance.
I am missing a payment in Payment Accelerator. What should I do?
Contact InstaMed Customer Service toll-free at 1-877-833-6821 or e-mail support@instamed.com.
I can't find a remittance in Payment Accelerator. What should I do?
Contact InstaMed Customer Service toll-free at 1-877-833-6821 or e-mail support@instamed.com.