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 get to keep a portion of the fees they force providers to repay. It’s as …
Who Audits the Auditors?
August 19, 2014 Leave a Comment
Two thousand years ago the Roman poet Juvenal asked, “Who watches the watchmen?” (Satires, VI, line 346). Since the advent of Medicare in 1965, hospitals have bemoaned the cost and burden of Medicare audits. The complaints increased when CMS hired private contractors for the audits. They became …
Brace Yourself: The RACs Are Back
August 5, 2014 Leave a Comment
Yesterday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that it will restart the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program this month, on a limited basis. It’s been on hold since June. Under the controversial program private contractors audit hospitals and other Medicare providers for fraudulent …
GOT A COMPLAINT ABOUT RAC AUDITS? GET IN LINE
July 10, 2014 2 Comments
Criticism of the RAC (recovery audit contractor) program is becoming a national pastime. Needless to say, hospitals hated the program from the very beginning. And little wonder. The program pays private contractors a percentage of everything they recover through Medicare audits. Critics say that’s like …