Dive Brief:
- CMS has announced that it will stop reviewing additional documentation requests from Medicare recovery audit contractors (RACs) until it finishes the process of procuring new RAC contracts.
- February 21 is the last day an RAC may send a post-payment additional document request; and February 28 is the last day a MAC may send prepayment document requests for the Recovery Auditor Payment Review Demonstration.
- As CMS goes about procuring new candidates for the Recovery Audit Program, it has extended existing RAC contracts for several months.
Dive Insight:
The RAC program, which has been somewhat controversial since its inception, may end up seeing major changes this year. According to FierceHealthFinance, earlier this month bipartisan group of 111 House of Representatives members wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius arguing that the commission-based structure upon which RACs are paid encourages claims denials, which can be disastrous for providers. The Representatives urge Sebelius to take "immediate action" to avoid further problems.