Articles Posted in Audit

On September 12, 2011, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a new Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Statement of Work. A number of updates and clarifications were made to the previous RAC Statement of Work. One addition institutes a new type of review known as a semi-automatic review. This is a new two-part review that can include both automated and complex reviews. The new Statement of Work also clarifies the difference between DRG Validation and Clinical Validation by adding definitions of each. The Statement of Work defines DRG Validation as the process of reviewing physician documentation and determining whether the correct codes, and sequencing were applied to the billing of the claim. Clinical validation is defined as a separate process, which involves a clinical review of the case to see whether or not the patient truly possesses the conditions that were documented. Another addition was clarification to the process known as “Allowance for a Discussion Period.” For example, if the recovery auditor is notified by the contractor during the discussion period that the provider initiated the appeals process, the recovery auditor shall immediately discontinue the discussion period and send the provider a letter stating that the recovery auditor cannot continue the discussion period once an appeal has been filed. Click here to view the entire RAC Statement of Work.

If you need assistance in preparing for, or defending against RAC audits, or implementing a compliance program geared toward identifying and correcting potential risk areas related to RAC audits, please contact a Wachler & Associates attorney at 248-544-0888.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that the Medicare Fee-For-Service Program issues billions of dollars in improper Medicare and Medicaid payments every year. The majority of improper payments are identified through the contractor’s manual review of the provider’s medical records compared with the provider’s claims. Review Contractors request medical records by mailing a paper letter to the provider. To fulfill a request for medical records, the provider typically has only two methods for submitting the records to the Review Contractor- paper mail or fax.

This month, CMS plans to implement Phase 1 of its voluntary Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation (esMD) pilot which will offer providers a more efficient method to deliver medical records to the Review Contractor that made the document request. During Phase 1 of esMD, providers will have the option to electronically submit medical records to the requesting contractor. To keep the medical records and other documentation secure during the electronic exchange between the provider and the contractor, esMD will employ the technology of the Nationwide Health Information Network called CONNECT-compatible gateways.

CMS plans to introduce Phase 2 of esMD in 2012. During this phase, Review Contractors will electronically send documentation requests to providers when the contractor selects their claims for review.

CGI Federal, RAC for Region B, added three new issues to its CMS-approved issues list for providers in all Region B states.

• SNF consolidated billing. Services that are billed separately that should be included in the Skilled Nursing Facility Consolidated billing. Consolidated Billing is when services provided during the resident’s stay in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) are bundled into one package and billed by the Skilled Nursing Facility. Under the Consolidated Billing requirement, a Skilled Nursing Facility itself must submit all Medicare claims for the services that its residents receive (except for specifically excluded services).
• DME while inpatient. The Medicare DMEPOS benefit is intended only for items that a beneficiary uses in his or her home. When a beneficiary is in a Part A inpatient stay, the institutional provider (e.g., hospital) is not defined as a beneficiary’s home for DMEPOS therefore; Medicare will not make separate payment for DMEPOS when a beneficiary is in the institution. The institution is expected to provide all medically necessary DMEPOS during a beneficiary’s covered Part A stay.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced it will release a national provider Comparative Billing Report (CBR) focused on Ordering Durable Medical Equipment: Diabetic Supplies. The CBRs will be released to 5,000 providers on August 29, 2011. CMS will make two additional CBR releases to 5,000 providers, which are currently slated for September 7, 2011 and September 15, 2011.

The CBRs are produced by Safeguard Services under contract with CMS and will provide comparative data to help show how these individual providers compare to other providers within the same field. These comparative studies are designed to help providers review their coding and billing practices and utilization patterns, and take proactive compliance measures. Providers should view CBRs as a tool, rather than a warning, as a way to aid them in properly complying with Medicare billing rules. It is also important to understand that CBRs do not contain patient or case-specific data, but rather only summary billing information as a method of ensuring privacy.

If you are a recipient of a CBR on Ordering Durable Medical Equipment: Diabetic Supplies, or are among the other provider types that have been identified to receive CBRs (i.e. physical therapists, chiropractors, ambulance, hospice, podiatry, and sleep studies), please contact a Wachler & Associates attorney at 248-544-0888 to discuss evaluating the CBR analysis and development of an appropriate compliance plan that will reduce audit risks.

Additional Documentation Limits for Medicare Providers

Effective August 22, 2011, the Recovery Audit Contractors are permitted to request up to 35 records every 45 days from health care providers whose previous record request limit was set at 34 additional documentation requests or less. The limit is based on claim volumes only, and the type of claims do not factor into the limit. The maximum number of record requests remains at 300 within 45 days.

http://www.aha.org/aha/content/2011/pdf/11racadrlimits.pdf

DCS Healthcare, RAC for Region A, added two new issues subject to medical necessity reviews to its CMS-approved issues list for providers in Maryland. DCS Healthcare also added four new issues for providers in all Region A states.

• MS-DRG 286, 287 Cardiac Catheterization for Ischemic Heart Disease (All severity and risk of mortality levels) (Maryland only). Medicare pays for inpatient hospital services that are medically necessary for the setting billed. Medical documentation will be reviewed to determine that services were medically necessary. This review will be of MS-DRG 286, 287 cardiac catheterization for ischemic heart disease.
• MS-DRG 149 vertigo and other labyrinth disorders (All severity and risk of mortality levels) (Maryland only). Medicare pays for inpatient hospital services that are medically necessary for the setting billed. Medical documentation will be reviewed to determine that services were medically necessary. This review will be of MS-DRG 149 vertigo and other labyrinth disorders.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced it will release a national provider Comparative Billing Report (CBR) targeting Independent Physical Therapy Providers who practice in the outpatient setting and bill Medicare with the KX Modifier, which is the billing requirement used to show that the beneficiary has exceeded the therapy cap, but requires additional medically necessary physical therapy services. Last August, physical therapists were the first provider type to receive CBRs. The CBRs currently being issued to physical therapists will be distributed to 5,000 additional or different providers and will be centered on 2010 billing data.

The CBRs are produced by Safeguard Services under contract with CMS and will provide comparative data to help show how these individual providers compare to other providers within the same field. These comparative studies are designed to help providers review their coding and billing practices and utilization patterns, and take proactive compliance measures. Providers should view CBRs as a tool, rather than a warning, as a way to aid them in properly complying with Medicare billing rules. It is also important to understand that CBRs do not contain patient or case-specific data, but rather only summary billing information as a method of ensuring privacy.

If you are a recipient of a Physical Therapy CBR or are among the other provider types that have been identified to receive CBRs (i.e. physical therapists, chiropractors, ambulance, hospice, podiatry, and sleep studies), please contact a Wachler & Associates attorney at 248-544-0888 to discuss evaluating the CBR analysis and development of an appropriate compliance plan that will reduce audit risks.

On July 29, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Change Request 7436 which shifts the duty of issuing demand letters for identified overpayments from the Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) to the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). RACs will continue to be responsible for determining whether an improper payment has been made to a provider. However, after identifying an overpayment, RACs will now submit the claim to the MACs who will then send the demand letters to the identified providers. All communications regarding payment recovery and appeal process timeframes will be handled by the MACs, but a provider’s questions or concerns relating to audit specificities should be directed towards the RACs.

Providers need to be aware of this recent change in order to prevent any miscommunications that could lead to missing an appeal deadline. A small error such as this could lead to forfeiting any appeal rights that a provider is granted. If you have any questions relating to RAC audits, or any other type of Medicare or Medicaid audit, please contact a Wachler & Associates attorney at 248-544-0888.

According to a new report released by The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS OIG), hospice companies have quickly expanded their services to patients residing in nursing homes. HHS OIG found that total Medicare spending for hospice care for nursing home residents had grown by nearly 70 percent between 2005 and 2009. In addition, the number of hospice beneficiaries in nursing facilities has increased by 40 percent during that same time period. The report also found that 263 hospices (nearly 8 percent of all hospices) had two-thirds or more of their Medicare beneficiaries residing in nursing homes, referred to in the report as “high-percentage hospices.” Moreover, high-percentage hospices were paid an average of $3,182 more per beneficiary by Medicare. Also, high-percentage hospice beneficiaries received hospice services nearly three weeks longer than beneficiaries served by hospices overall, and the costs to high-percentage hospices were much lower due to patients requiring less services because they are already receiving similar services from the nursing facilities.

In connection with the Inspector General’s recommendation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it is making an effort to reduce its Medicare payments for hospice patients residing in nursing facilities. As a result, hospice providers will likely see increased audits in this area, with a specific focus on skilled nursing facility referrals. If you are a hospice provider and need assistance in preparing or defending against an audit, or seek assistance with creating a compliance program to minimize audit risk, please contact a Wachler & Associates attorney at 248-544-0888.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a summary of the Medicare Fee for Service RAC recoveries for the 3^rd quarter of fiscal year 2011. The summary displays the amount of each region’s overpayments, underpayments and total corrections, as well as the nationwide totals. In addition to these quantitative findings, CMS has also identified the top issues for each region.

Click here to view the summary posted by CMS.

Review of these issues is helpful for providers wishing to develop a compliance program that will alert them to potential RAC issues prior to a RAC audit. The issues identified by CMS should be a key focus area for providers developing compliance programs to prepare for and hopefully avoid RAC audits. If you need assistance in preparing for, or defending against a RAC audit through the Medicare appeals process, or for assistance implementing a compliance program geared toward identifying and correcting potential risk areas related to RAC audits, please contact a Wachler & Associates attorney at 248-544-0888.