The American Hospital Association (AHA) has expressed its disapproval of the Affordable Care Act's obligation to report and return overpayments.

The 42,000-member organization commented on the proposed rule to implement Section 6402(a), which requires hospitals to report and return an overpayment within 60 days of its identification. Failure to do so subjects a provider to liability under the Federal Claims Act.

The AHA calls the proposed rule an "impossible standard for hospitals" that contorts the original law to "create another confusing, onerous, and legally risky set of expectations for hospitals."

To avoid liability under the new reporting requirements, hospitals would effectively have to guarantee that its bills and reviews were 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time, according to AHA's comments.