A Command Performant(s): RAC Audits on the Rise
As we approach the conclusion of another transformative year, we are excited to present our comprehensive year-end review, shedding light on the trends shaping the healthcare market in 2023. Our team’s keen insights and...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 30, no. 2 (January 18, 2021) - Recovery audit contractors (RACs) may soon be auditing positron emission tomography (PET) for initial treatment strategy in oncologic conditions for compliance...more
Late last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the CY 2020 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) final rule [CMS-1717-FC]. While many hospitals had hoped for relief from recent...more
The federal government recently awarded new contracts for Medicare recovery audits, and recovery audit contractors (“RACs”) will start showing up at hospitals, home health providers, and other facilities any time. But this...more
Last week, a number of health care industry associations sent letters to Congress detailing ways in which the government could relieve them of the burdens associated with “red tape.” The letters are in response to the first...more
On November 7, 2016, in the pending American Hospital Association (AHA) v. Burwell litigation, HHS filed a motion for summary judgment. A central focus of HHS’s motion for summary judgment is assertions that “the backlog is...more
Effective September 12, 2016, Beneficiary and Family Centered Care (BFCC) Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) resumed their hospital initial patient status reviews. The purpose of these reviews is to determine the...more
If there’s one thing that unites the hospital industry—even the fiercest competitors—it’s hatred of audits by recovery audit contractors, or RACs. Why? For one thing, because RACs operate on a contingency fee basis. They...more
On February 9, 2016, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction in the American Hospital Association v. Burwell case. ...more
What to Expect from Congress this Work Period - The next Hill work period basically runs from February 22nd to March 23rd. As Congress returns, here’s a brief look at the pending health care issues on the radar for this...more
While providers would certainly feel the pinch from the FY 2017 budget request submitted by President Barack Obama, hospitals have some new hope on receiving funds tied up in the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) appeals...more
On October 30, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year 2016 Outpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule (2016 OPPS Final Rule). In the 2016 OPPS Final Rule, CMS finalizes...more
On October 15, 2015, CMS released its annual recovery auditing report to Congress. CMS’s Recovery Auditor (RAC) program identifies and corrects improper payments through a combination of prepayment and post-payment reviews,...more
Last week, CMS released its report to Congress regarding the results of the FY 2014 Medicare Recovery Audit Program (the “Report”). Of note, the Report notes that RACs identified and corrected more than 1 million claims for...more
Quality Improvement Organization Releases Guidance on Short-Stay Reviews – As previously reported, in July 2015, CMS announced that Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) would begin conducting reviews of certain inpatient ...more
In August 27, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-awaited and much-anticipated proposed 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B Program) Omnibus Guidance (Proposed Guidance). The Proposed...more
President Obama Signs Outpatient Status Notification Bill On August 6, 2015, President Obama signed the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act. This legislation requires hospitals...more
On July 8, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a Proposed Rule regarding the 2016 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”). The Proposed Rule, in addition to proposing updates...more
On July 22, 2015, the U.S. House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee heard testimony from Mark Miller, Ph.D., executive director of Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Dr. Miller’s testimony highlighted recent trends...more
On July 1, 2015, CMS released a Proposed Rule that would revise the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Payment System payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2016, and would...more
On July 1, 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released proposed updates to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System for Calendar Year...more
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its “Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System” on June 15, 2015. As previously reported, the report makes recommendations for policy...more
On May 20, 2015, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing entitled “Challenging the Status Quo: Solutions to the Hospital Observation Stay Crisis.” Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Claire...more
This is the second K&L Gates Health Care Client Alert discussing the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” (MACRA), signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 16, 2015. This alert focuses on...more
At its public meeting last week in Washington, D.C., the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a congressional advisory panel on Medicare payment and policy issues, considered a number of final policy recommendations...more