In a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack wrote the OIG has “misconstrued and misapplied numerous Medicare regulations and policies” in performing audits. He also stated the OIG’s auditing process “grossly exaggerates estimated Medicare overpayments, leads to excessive recoveries by Medicare contractors and otherwise prejudices and burdens hospitals.”
The correspondence builds on another letter Mr. Pollack sent in June to then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, stating the reviews conducted by the OIG Office of Audit Services are “entirely redundant” to the reviews carried out by Medicare recovery audit contractors, which focus on the same types of claims (e.g., short inpatient stays).
More articles on hospital audits:
GAO identifies ways to fix Medicare audits
CMS: RAC program will restart this month
HHS, hospitals continue to clash over Medicare appeals backlog: 5 things to know
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