As previously reported, CMS has repeatedly delayed its timeline for implementing claims edits that will deny Medicare payment for claims for services ordered or referred by a physician or other eligible professional who does not have an approved file in PECOS. Most recently, CMS backed off its July 5, 2011 implementation “placeholder date,” announcing that it “has not yet decided when it will begin to reject claims if an ordering/referring provider does not have a PECOS record,” and that the agency “will give providers ample notice before claim rejections begin.”