CMS institutes a reprieve in RAC operations

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is in the middle of processing the next round of Recovery Audit Program contracts. To make sure the current Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) complete their work before the current contracts expire, CMS has announced that it will wind down some of the RACs' operations.

Specifically, CMS says the RACs were to cease sending pre- and post-payment additional documentation requests (ADRs) by the beginning of March and review the ones they already have. RACs have until June 1, 2014, to send improper payment files to Medicare administrative contractors for adjustment.

As a reminder, if you have received an ADR from a RAC, you have 45 days to respond to it. The RACs, in turn, have up to 60 days to make a determination on the claim.

Besides giving the RACs time to complete their work, the CMS said the pause in RAC operations will allow it to continue refining and improving the Medicare Recovery Audit Program. For example, CMS is reviewing the ADR limits, timeframes for review, and communications between RACs and physicians. CMS has already announced a number of changes it plans to make to the RAC program with the next round of contractor awards. CMS invites physicians with additional questions to send them to RAC@cms.hhs.gov for answers.

– Kent Moore, Senior Strategist for Physician Payment for the American Academy of Family Physicians