Home Health & Hospice Week

If you want to get a jump on Recovery  Audit Contractors, you should assemble a RAC response team, recommends CMS in a new MLN Matters article about the Medicare bounty hunters. Insufficient or total lack of response to RAC additional development requests (ADRs) is a top reason for claims denials, CMS says. The agency recommends that providers assemble "a RAC team to coordinate all RAC activities that may include tracking audit and appeal findings, identifying patterns of error, implementing corrective actions, etc.," the article says. "Providers should consider assigning a point of contact and, if necessary, an alternate, who will be responsible for tracking and responding to RAC ADR letters." Tip: "Providers should tell the RAC the precise address and contact person to use when sending ADR letters," CMS advises. More advice on interacting with RACs and information about the contractors is in the article at www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1024.pdf.