What are the main components to the RDS Program?

The RDS Program is made up of the following 6 components:

1. User Management - includes maintaining roles and user information as well as remaining in compliance with Federal Security Regulations by logging into the RDS Secure Website at least once every 180 days. Maintaining an active user account is essential to RDS Program participation including submitting applications and completing Reconciliation. CMS' RDS Center will not make payments to a Plan Sponsor if the Account Manager or Authorized Representative has an inactive user account.
2. Annual Plan Application - includes submitting a timely application prior to the expiration of the Application Deadline, which is 90 days before the selected Plan Year Start Date. For example, if a Plan Sponsor’s Plan Year Start Date is January 1, 2015, the Application Deadline is October 2, 2014. If the Application Deadline is not met, the application will be denied. Keep This in Mind: If the Plan Sponsor finds it will be unable to meet the original Application Deadline, the Account Manager, Authorized Representative, or a Designee assigned the Request Extension privilege may request one 30-day extension using the RDS Secure Website.
3. Retiree Management - Plan Sponsors submit monthly retiree updates to CMS' RDS Center to establish Qualifying Covered Retirees (QCRs). A QCR must be: a retiree of the Plan Sponsor or a retiree's spouse/dependents, a person covered under the Plan Sponsor's Qualified Retiree Prescription Drug Plan and a person eligible for but not enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan. Plan Sponsors may only submit costs for the QCRs, Benefit Options, and Subsidy Periods listed in the Covered Retiree List. Therefore, it is necessary to manage retiree information throughout the phases of an RDS application.
4. Payment Setup - process by which the Account Manager or the Authorized Representative identify the individuals who will report costs and request payment(s) by completing Payment Setup. If there are changes to the individuals who will report costs and request payment(s), changes can be made to Payment Setup. Payment Setup must be complete in order to report costs or request payment(s). Additionally, a single individual may not have both the Report Costs privilege and the Request Payment privilege on a given application.
5. Interim Payment - process by which a Monthly, Quarterly, or Interim Annual Payment may be requested by the Plan Sponsor based on the selection made during application setup. NOTE: Beginning May 8, 2020, all current and future RDS applications’ Payment Frequency will be set to a maximum frequency of monthly interim payments, consistent with the general payment rules regarding timing set forth in 42 C.F.R. 423.888(b)(1). Although 12 interim payment requests are permitted, a Plan Sponsor may choose to submit fewer than 12 interim payment requests, or forego interim payments and instead choose to submit one final payment request during Reconciliation as described in 42 C.F.R. 423.888(b)(2)(ii). Please refer to Important Enhancement to RDS Payment Frequency for important details.
6. Reconciliation - occurs within 15 months after the application Plan Year End Date to finalize an application’s Covered Retiree List and submit final cost data to CMS' RDS Center. If the Plan Sponsor did not select an Interim Payment Frequency, it must use the Reconciliation process to request its annual payment. Reconciliation steps typically average 90 days to complete. Remember: If interim payments were received and the Plan Sponsor does not complete Reconciliation by the Reconciliation Deadline, the sum of all payments received will become an overpayment, and CMS will initiate immediate action to recover those funds. Plan Sponsors that fail to meet the Reconciliation Deadline for a given application and have not received interim payments for that application will not be eligible for any subsidy payments for that application.