Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Part A is moving toward running out of money -- and Part B could be at risk down the road. There's no question about it -- the Medicare program's Recovery Audit Contractors are armed and ready to sweep the greater medical community, no matter where you live or how large or small your practice might be. In their three-year pilot, RACs racked up a whopping $1 billion in corrected overpayments, and they're not stopping there. These medical review bounty hunters are rolling out in 24 states now and will start activities in the remaining states in August. Stay alert: "If you're submitting claims to Medicare, it's 100 percent odds that you'll be audited," cautions Tim Johnson of Castle Rock Medical Group, a Denver-based consulting firm that specializes in RACs. It might not happen right away since the contractors will target high-dollar claims first, but as the RACs become more efficient, "the lower [...]