Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

A wider range of Medicare providers could be subject to site visits to verify their enrollment information under an April 25 proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In a proposed rule on Medicare enrollment published in the Federal Register, CMS says it is expanding its site visit policy "to all providers and suppliers when deemed necessary based on questionable enrollment information." The 200-plus page rule - which includes, for public comment, the recently modified Medicare enrollment forms - is designed to establish a process that ensures that qualified providers and suppliers can participate in the program while bad apples are weeded out. Under the rule, providers and suppliers will have to re-verify their enrollment information every three years. To see the rule, go to www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a030425c.html.