Wachler & Associates Health Law BlogFinal Rule Tightens Provider Enrollment Policies, Expands CMS Authority
On December 3, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released a final rule that broadens its authority to deny providers or suppliers from enrolling in Medicare and revoke providers already participating. The final rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on February 3, 2015, permits CMS to deny or revoke enrollment of providers with abusive billing patterns or practices, deny enrollment of providers affiliated with unpaid Medicare debt and deny or revoke enrollment of providers if a managing employee has been convicted of certain felonies.
CMS plans to identify improper billing by analyzing several factors such as:
- The percentage of denied claims;
- The reason for the denials; and
- The length of any billing irregularities.
Providers and suppliers affiliated with entities with unpaid Medicare debt may prevent the enrollment denial or revocation if they agree to a structured repayment plan or pay the debt in full. The purpose of this provision is to prevent entities from incurring substantial Medicare debt, exiting the program and then re-enrolling as a new entity. Currently, CMS can only deny enrollment to those who have overpayments. The final rule explicitly expands this power to include Medicare debt, which includes overpayments as well as other financial obligations.
The final rule also authorizes CMS to deny or revoke enrollment to entities that continue to retain a managing employee that has been convicted of a certain felonies within the past ten years. CMS identified felonies that it deems detrimental to beneficiaries and the Medicare program, including assault, income tax evasion, and embezzlement.
The final rule also restricts reimbursement for ambulance suppliers by eliminating their ability to bill Medicare for the year prior to their enrollment. Additionally, the final rule brings ambulance providers into the same fold as practitioners by requiring that they submit all claims within sixty days of enrollment revocation. CMS estimates that these provisions will save Medicare $327 million annually.
Wachler & Associates regularly counsels providers regarding CMS rules and regulations. If you have any questions about CMS’ final rule, or how the new billing parameters may impact your practice, please contact an experienced healthcare attorney at 248-544-0888 or via email at wapc@wachler.com. To continue to stay updated on healthcare news, please subscribe to the Wachler & Associates health law blog by adding your email address and clicking ‘Subscribe’ in the window on the top right of this page.