(a) A physician or practitioner fails to properly opt-out if—
- (1) Any private contract between the physician or practitioner and a Medicare beneficiary, that was entered into before the affidavit described in § 405.420 was filed, does not meet the specifications of § 405.415; or
- (2) He or she fails to submit the affidavit(s) in accordance with § 405.420.
(b) If a physician or practitioner fails to properly opt-out in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the following results obtain:
- (1) The physician's or practitioner's attempt to opt-out of Medicare is nullified, and all of the private contracts between the physician or practitioner and Medicare beneficiaries for the two-year period covered by the attempted opt-out are deemed null and void.
- (2) The physician or practitioner must submit claims to Medicare for all Medicare-covered items and services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries, including the items and services furnished under the nullified contracts. A nonparticipating physician is subject to the limiting charge provisions of § 414.48 of this chapter. A participating physician is subject to the limitations on charges of the participation agreement he or she signed.
- (3) The practitioner may not reassign any claim except as provided in § 424.80 of this chapter.
- (4) The practitioner may neither bill nor collect an amount from the beneficiary except for applicable deductible and coinsurance amounts.
- (5) The physician or practitioner may make another attempt to properly opt-out at any time.