WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 27, 2016)—While much of our outreach on public policy this year has focused on mitigating the impact of bidding-derived reimbursement rates for providers in rural and non-bid areas, the American Association for Homecare also continues its important work on regulatory and legislative approaches to reforming Medicare audits.
Reliable and representative data that clearly demonstrates the burdensome nature of audits, in terms of volume, overturn rates, and company resources required to respond to them, is critically needed to make our case for meaningful audit reform.
This is the objective of the HME Audit Key, which launched earlier this year, and is currently open for a new data submission period, for the First Quarter of 2016. The HME Audit Key collects summary data on audits received and appeal experiences that are used to engage policymakers and government regulators on audit-related issues. The Audit Key does not require companies to submit data on individual claims, but instead seeks cumulative counts of pre- and post-payment audits and appeal claim outcomes.
Suppliers can go to hmeauditkey.org to register; participation is free—you just need one of your organization's NPIs and respective 5-digit ZIP code to register and get started. Also available on the site are presentations that will show you how to get started, as well as support and technical assistance.
The first round of Audit Key data collection (covering the Fourth Quarter of 2015) was concluded in February. The complete report on the initial survey round can be found here, as well as a brief presentation discussing the results.
In addition to providing critical data for the campaign for audit reform, your company can use this information to see how they compare to other suppliers in terms of audit volumes and appeal overturn rates. Please be assured that your company’s individual experiences will never be shared, but will be included in the aggregate data.
Increased participation in the quarterly Audit Key surveys will provide important support for efforts to deliver smarter and fairer policies that will lessen the financial and administrative burdens created by audits.
Join the data-driven campaign to reform HME audits today!
Visit aahomecare.org for more information.
