/ MultiCare Medical Associates
Title: CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME) EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURES
Scope:
MMA Providers who have a current CME benefit expense account
Purpose:
To establish the MultiCare Medical Associates procedure for timely, complete and accurate documentation of CME expenses for reimbursement to participants. To administrate CME Expense to qualify as non-reportable income to the participants.
Policy:
a. All Continuing Medical Education (CME) expenses will be liquidated from receipts obtained after the expenses have been incurred. This request must be accompanied by a proof of payment.
b.All Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Guidelines defining what may and what may not be included in CME expenses will be followed, as listed in the References below.
  • CME Expenses are for the account holder, physician or mid-level ONLY, including but not limited to lodging, meals and travel for the CME activity as noted in the References below.
  • When using the CME benefit, expenses must pertain to continuing medical education and not personal or capital items. An attestation must be signed when submitting a CME reimbursement request.
  • If a CME program that is offeredrequires travel, and a program syllabus with dates and speakers can be supplied, then the travel qualifies as reasonable and necessary.
c. CME expenses will be charged against each provider’s individual account and limited to the amount of the CME available balance in the provider’s account. These expenses will be charged against the year in which they were incurred.
d. Expenses such as professional dues, medical subscriptions, home-study courses, or medical texts, must be submitted within 90 days of when the expense occurred. NOTE: All conference expenses must be submitted within 90 days AFTER the conference and should include proof of attendance. Acceptable documentation for proof of attendance is as follows: A copy of the conference schedule, a copy of the first page of the syllabus with the name and date indicated on it, or an attendance certificate. (Exception to advance reimbursement for conferences – see addendum A).
e. CME dollars may be used for graduate education, (applicable to physicians only) subject to the following requirements:
  • Not all graduate education expense is covered by the CME benefit. Contact CME Specialist for further information.
  • Requests must be pre-approved before a course is begun.
  • Reimbursement may be approved up to the annual CME limit.
  • No additional CME dollars will be available to the provider who chooses to use CME dollars for this type of reimbursement.
  • Use of these dollars for this is in lieu of other continuing education activities.
  • Reimbursement does not occur until course is completed.
  • Reimbursement will require submission of a copy of the paid receipt for the course and the grade for the course. A minimum grade of C or 2.0 on a 4-point scale, or a pass on a pass/fail grading system, is also required for reimbursement.

Responsibilities and Procedure

a. All Providers who have a current CME benefit expense account will abide by these procedures.
b. Providers send their CME reimbursement requests to MMA Administration attention CME Specialist. The requests are then reviewed to ensure compliance with MHS, IRS and other regulatory guidelines and/or policies. Reimbursement for expenses should take no longer then 30 days from the time the MMA office receives the signed request and receipt. The MHS Employee Travel Policy is used as a guideline with a few exceptions noted in the “Quick Reference Guide”. Necessary documentation includes:
  • Completed and signed CME Expense Request From
  • Original itemized receipts (airfare, meals, taxi/shuttle, parking, lodging, etc)
  • Proof of payment (copy of check, bank/credit card statement etc), online receipts indicating payment received.
  • Proof of attendance (if attending a conference)
If any of the above mentioned “necessary documentation” is not included, the CME Specialist is to contact the provider via email/phone. This may delay the provider’s reimbursement timeline longer than the above 30 days.
c. The amount of the request is documented in the CME account balance spreadsheet. Once it is determined that the physician has enough money in their CME account and all necessary documentation is provided, the Administrative Director MMA Finance signs off on the expense report. It is then sent on to Accounts Payable.
d. If an expense report form comes to Accounts Payable that shows CME expenses, but has not been stamped with “Reconciled with CME Account”, they will forward this to MMA Administration so it can be reviewed before being processed.
e. Any expenses required for maintaining a physician’s licensure and/or medical staff privileges are treated as an operating expense to MHS and are not considered CME per compensation and benefits guidelines. This includes WA State Licensure, DEA, Board Certification/Recertification fees and BLS and ACLS fees if required for their position. These expenses should be submitted directly to A/P by the clinic supervisor. Out of State licensure fees and PCMS/KCMS/WSMA membership dues are not treated as operating expenses, but they are reimbursable through CME.
f. For a list of reimbursable/non reimbursable items, please see the “CME Quick Reference Guide” document. For additional information regarding reimbursable and non reimbursable items go to the MMA Web on the MHS Intranet.
g. Equipment for accessing CME material, limit to a total of $1000,00 per calendar year, with express exclusion of equipment with telephone capabilities, may be purchased with the providers CME benefit.
Related Forms:CME Reimbursement Request; Exception to Advance Payment Request Form
a.References:
CME FAQ-10 Things You Should Know About CME , MMA CME Quick Reference Guide (taken from the MHS Travel Policy), MMA Web; IRS Tax Topic 511 – Business Travel Expenses
Point of Contact:MMA Medical Director
Approval By:
MMA Administrative Director-Finance/Business Services / Date of Approval:
4/19/2010
Original Date:
Revision Dates:
Reviewed with no Changes Dates: / 3/1/04
3/1/09; 2/1/10, 10/22/10
X/XX; X/XX

Addendum A

Exception to Advance Payment for Conferences

Where participant in CME Benefit has prepaid for the event and declared a financial hardship.

Participant will need to sign a CME Advance Request and Agreement limiting the preliminary reimbursement to a maximum of 50% of the prepaid amount of the event and with Medical Director approval. If the reimbursement is granted for prepayment the participant:

  • Agrees to be responsible to provide documentation of attendance within the 90 days of CME event
  • In the event that participant fails to attend the conference or provide the required documentation, will agree to reimburse MultiCare Health System.
  • If provider fails to repay within 30 days provider will authorize MultiCare Health System to deduct the advance from the participant’s check.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) Expense Reimbursement

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