How Do You Move ERA and EFT Enrollment to a New Billing Company?
In most switches the money stays put and only the data moves. The EFT, the deposit itself, keeps going to a bank account in your practice's name, while the ERA, the electronic remittance file, has to be re-pointed so the new company's clearinghouse receives it.
Written by Salman Saeed, CEO and Co-Founder · Reviewed by a Certified Medical Coder · 
In short: keep the bank account yours and change only where the ERA is delivered. For Medicare, notify your contractor in writing before the change and sign an ERA Enrollment Form naming the new party. For each commercial payer, follow that payer's own enrollment process and check the first remittance against the first deposit.
What Actually Moves When You Change Billing Companies?
Two things travel together on a payer's side and are easy to confuse. The EFT is the payment, a bank deposit. The ERA is the explanation, the X12 835 file that says which claims the deposit paid and what was adjusted.
The federal standards treat them as a pair. Under 45 CFR 162.1602, the standard for the payment is the NACHA CCD+ format and the standard for the remittance is the X12 835, and the rule puts the 835's trace number, the TRN segment, into the addenda record of the payment so the two can be matched.
| Row | EFT (the money) | ERA (the data) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A deposit to your bank account | The 835 file that explains the deposit |
| Who should control it | You. The account stays in your practice's legal name | You enroll it, and the billing company or its clearinghouse receives it |
| Changes in a switch | Only if your bank account changes | Yes: delivery moves to the new company's clearinghouse |
| If it goes wrong | Money lands somewhere you are not watching | Money arrives but nobody can post it to claims |
That table is the whole strategy. Any request to move the deposit into the billing company's own account deserves a hard look, because Medicare's own rules point the other way, as the next section shows.
What Are the Medicare Steps, in Order?
Medicare treats the provider as the party that signs and the billing company as someone the provider names. Chapter 24 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual says the provider must sign the ERA Enrollment Form and submit it to the A/B MAC or CEDI that will send the ERA, before the contractor will transmit any ERA, and that this applies whether ERA is received directly or through a billing agent or clearinghouse.
- Write to your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) before the change. Chapter 24 says providers are obligated to notify the A/B MAC or CEDI in writing in advance of a change in billing agent or clearinghouse, with the effective date they stop using the old one.
- Ask the MAC whether a new signed ERA Enrollment Form is needed. The manual says a provider with a form on file may or may not need a new one when changing from one billing agent to another, depending on the contractor's process.
- Update the Billing Agency section of your CMS-855 enrollment. The Program Integrity Manual says the provider shall complete that section with information about all billing agents it utilizes.
- Leave the bank account alone unless it truly changes. Form CMS-588 is needed for a new EFT enrollment or a change to the account, and it says the account must bear the provider's legal name and the signer certifies sole control of it.
- Check the new company has its own EDI access. Chapter 24 says providers may not share their personal EDI number and password with a billing agent or clearinghouse.
- End the old arrangement in writing. The ERA Enrollment Form says either party may terminate the arrangement with 30 days written notice, so send any termination early enough to avoid two parties receiving the same file.
Under 42 CFR 424.73(b)(3), Medicare payment to an agent is always made in the name of the provider, and the agent must act under payment disposition instructions that the provider may modify or revoke at any time. That is why a new company should not need your deposit routed into its own account to do the work. Our own setup works that way: payers pay you directly and we invoice our agreed percentage of what was collected.
What Do You Ask Each Commercial Payer?
Each commercial payer runs its own EFT and ERA enrollment, through a portal, a clearinghouse, a vendor or a paper form. HHS has adopted the Phase III CORE 380 EFT Enrollment Data Rule and the CORE 382 ERA Enrollment Data Rule at 45 CFR 162.1603, but the steps, signers and timing are set by each payer, so read that payer's provider manual first.
Make one row per payer in a tracker and fill in the answers below before go-live.
| Question to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where do we enroll for ERA and EFT: portal, clearinghouse or form? | Decides who must act and how long it can take |
| Who must sign: practice owner, authorized official or the billing company? | A wrong signer restarts the request |
| Does the new delivery replace the old one on a set date, or run alongside it? | Prevents the old company receiving files you need to see |
| Does the bank account stay the same? | A new account usually needs bank verification |
| What do you send while enrollment is pending: paper remittance, a check or the old file? | Tells you how to post payments in the gap |
| What is the effective date, in writing? | Gives you the date to plan the first reconciliation |
Where a payer's manual does not answer, ask its provider relations team and keep the reply with the tracker. Do not guess at timing; the manual or the payer's reply is the only source for it.
How Do You Catch Money That Goes to the Wrong Place?
Match the first remittance from every payer to a deposit within the first week, using the trace number. HHS also adopted the CORE 370 EFT and ERA Reassociation (CCD+/835) Rule at 45 CFR 162.1603 for exactly this matching. The 835's TRN segment is the number the federal standard sends with the payment, so a deposit with no matching 835, or an 835 with no matching deposit, is the signal to call the payer.
A payer sends an ERA reporting $48,200.00 paid across 112 claims. The bank shows a $48,200.00 deposit with the same trace number on Thursday. The match is clean, so the ERA is posted. Another payer's ERA reports $15,600.00 and no deposit has arrived. The tracker row for that payer shows its bank verification was still pending, so the tracker owner calls provider relations that day instead of at month end.
Keep the old company's access to your remittances only as long as the run-out arrangement needs it. The data and claims post covers that exit side, and the ERA reading guide explains the file once it arrives.
How Nucleus Align Handles It
We sign a Business Associate Agreement with every client, keep two-step login on every system and work from your payer enrollments, so the deposit stays with you. The 30-day switching calendar and the switching guide show the whole transition, and you can book a call to plan the ERA and EFT part for a practice like family medicine with our medical billing team.
- Medicare Claims Processing Manual, chapter 24, section 30 · CMS
- Form CMS-588, Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization Agreement · CMS
- 45 CFR 162.1602, Standards for health care EFT and remittance advice transaction · eCFR
- 45 CFR 162.1603, Operating rules for health care EFT and remittance advice transaction · eCFR
- Medicare Program Integrity Manual, chapter 10, section 10.6.8 · CMS
- 42 CFR 424.73, Prohibition of assignment of claims by providers · eCFR
We check every rule, code and deadline against the official source. See our editorial policy.
Common Questions
Straight answers from the team that does the work.
Ask a billing lead directly. A 20-minute call, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern.
01Do I have to change my bank account when I change billing companies?
No. The account that receives Medicare payments must bear your legal business name and you must have sole control of it, according to Form CMS-588. Only a real change of bank needs a new CMS-588. The billing company usually needs the ERA, the data file, not the deposit.
02How do I move Medicare ERA to a new billing company?
Notify your Medicare Administrative Contractor in writing in advance with the effective date, ask whether a new signed ERA Enrollment Form is needed for the new agent, and update the billing agency section of your CMS-855. Chapter 24 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual leaves the new-form question to each contractor.
03Can the new billing company receive my payments in its own account?
Under 42 CFR 424.73, Medicare payment to an agent is always made in the name of the provider, and the agent must act under instructions the provider can modify or revoke at any time. For Medicare, keep deposits in an account in your own name and ask counsel about any other arrangement. With Nucleus Align, payers pay you directly into your own bank account, and we never receive payer money.
04How long does ERA enrollment take with a payer?
Each payer sets its own timing, and no federal rule gives one number for commercial payers. Ask for the effective date in writing from the payer's manual or provider relations team, and plan go-live around that date rather than assuming a standard wait.
05How do I know a payment went to the right place?
Match each 835 file to a bank deposit using the trace number. Under 45 CFR 162.1602 the 835's TRN reassociation trace number travels with the payment record, so a deposit without a matching file, or the reverse, tells you to call the payer.
Talk to a Billing Lead.
A 20-minute call about your payers, volume and setup. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Eastern.