On March 13, 2014, with the strong support of Senate Finance Ranking Committee Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the Republican oversight staff of the Senate Finance Committee convened an informal stakeholder discussion attended by over a dozen providers and suppliers with day-to-day responsibility for compliance issues. A group of bicameral and bipartisan staffers from congressional committees of jurisdiction and individual Member offices attended the session. The moderated discussion focused on developing solutions to the current challenges presented by Medicare audit and appeals burdens, while ensuring and improving the integrity of Medicare payments. The three main discussion areas focused upon the following questions:
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What are the main sources of audit burden (i.e., RACs, MACs, ZPICs)?
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What can be done to alleviate those burdens, while avoiding or recovering improper payments?
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What changes could be made to alleviate appeals bottlenecks or reduce the number of appeals?
King & Spalding is very pleased that two members of our RAC Coalition, an ad-hoc group of hospital clients created in April 2013 in an effort to communicate jointly to CMS and Congress the need for meaningful and common-sense reforms to the RAC program, participated in this discussion. We look forward to continuing our work with Congress and the Administration to find fundamental, practical, cost-effective, and lasting RAC reform.
Reporter, Allison Kassir, Washington, D.C., +1 202 626 5600, akassir@kslaw.com.
