Tag: Audit Key

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers should heed the findings of a new report that raises concerns about the roll out of competitive bidding rates nationwide, says The Council for Quality Respiratory Care.The report, published by The Moran Company, highlights several “deficiencies” with the program, including: use of non-binding bids; use of the median bid to calculate payment amounts; and use of composite bids, which it says incentivizes bidders to “game the system” by bidding low for...

WASHINGTON - Results are in for the AAHomecare HME Audit Key survey for the first quarter of 2016.Sixty-nine percent of completed MAC prepayment audits nationwide were paid upon review, according to the survey, which included additional documentation requests from Oct. 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016.Other results from the survey:. the average rate of audits denied increased 5% between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, with the average percent of audits denied by net revenue...

WASHINGTON - Providers now have until Feb. 26 to enter their fourth quarter 2015 audit data into AAHomecare's HME Audit Key. The association is seeking cumulative counts of pre- and post-payment audits and appeal claim outcomes for providers' three largest product categories under DME MAC, RAC and SMRC reviews.The information gathered will be used to demonstrate the impact of audits on the HME industry and help AAHomecare advocate for common sense reforms. To register, click here.

WASHINGTON - In a sign that contract offers might be on their way, HME providers who submitted bids as part of the Round 2 and the national mail-order re-compete may now register for Connexion.Contract offers and other correspondence for the Round 2 and national mail-order re-compete will be communicated only through Connexion, a new secure, online portal, according to an update posted to the CBIC website Feb. 17.“These items will not be mailed,” the agency stated.To respond to offers...

WASHINGTON - Providers can register for AAHomecare's HME Audit Key starting in April.“We're hoping to sign up several hundred providers,” said Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs for the association.AAHomecare launched the HME Audit Key in 2014 to track audit activity in the HME industry and present those findings to policymakers.Starting in May, providers that have registered will be able to use a secure electronic form to anonymously answer questions about audits, including...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare has launched FixMedicareAudits.org to serve as one-stop shop for audit reform, the association announced this week. The cornerstone of the new site: H.R. 5083, The Audit Improvement and Reform Act (AIR Act), which was introduced by Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., on July 11. “The new site will serve as a rallying point for the HME community to come together in support of the AIR Act, which will apply common sense fixes to one of the most pressing challenges facing our industry...

WASHINGTON - It's no secret that audits are out of control, but without data it's hard to build a case. That's the problem AAHomecare hopes to help the industry fix with its HME Audit Key.“We're trying to make a stand that it's over the top, but we don't have any numbers to back that up,” said Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs for the association. “If we don't have any numbers that we can share, at the end of the day, it's all anecdotal stuff.”With HME Audit...

WASHINGTON - It's no secret that audits are out of control, but without data it's hard to build a case. That's the problem AAHomecare hopes to help the industry fix with its HME Audit Key.“We're trying to make a stand that it's over the top, but we don't have any numbers to back that up,” said Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs for the association. “If we don't have any numbers that we can share, at the end of the day, it's all anecdotal stuff.”With HME Audit...

The healthcare industry as a whole has realized that every sector must join together to get out-of-control audits under control. AAHomecare is hard at work on a legislative solution, but on the regulatory front, our industry has been asked for data on audits and we have been unable to provide it.This is a missed opportunity in a dire situation.Without hard facts, we will be unable to demonstrate the impact of audits on the industry.Anecdotal stories and self-reported data are not credible and not...