GAO Finds CMS Should Fully Develop Plans for Medicare Advantage Encounter Data and Assess Data Quality Before Use – In a report released on September 2, 2014, GAO evaluated CMS’s plans for using Medicare Advantage (MA) encounter data and its efforts to validate the data’s quality. GAO recommends that CMS establish a clearly defined strategy for using MA encounter data and thoroughly assess the completeness and accuracy of the data before using it to risk adjust payments to MA organizations or for other intended purposes. To view the GAO report, click here.

Court Blocks CMS from Awarding New RAC Contracts – As we previously reported, on August 22, 2014, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied a challenge by incumbent Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) CGI to CMS’s plan to award new RAC contracts. On August 27, 2014, CGI appealed the decision and requested that the Court enjoin CMS from awarding the RAC contracts while CGI’s appeal is pending. In an unexpected departure from its August 22, 2014 decision, on September 2, 2014, the Court granted CGI’s request and enjoined CMS from awarding the RAC contracts until CGI’s appeal has been resolved. Prior to this development, CMS was hopeful that the RAC contracts would be awarded by the end of 2014. The opinion is available here.

2014 Cybersecurity Summit – On Wednesday, October 1, 2014, King & Spalding and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) will co-host the 2014 Cybersecurity Summit: Risks and Benefits in an Interconnected Economy. The Summit will take place from 2:00 – 5:30 p.m. at King & Spalding’s Washington, D.C. office, 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. A Rooftop Reception will follow from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. To view the program agenda, click here. To register, click here.