The Senate Finance, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight sent a bipartisan letter to Gene Dodaro, comptroller of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting a report on the activities, methods, and coordination of the various audits conducted by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), Zone Program Integrity Contractors ( ZPICs), Program Safeguard Contractors (PSCs), and Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) contractors.
The letter was sent in response to questions addressed to the Senate Finance Committee, which requested audit feedback in the form of whitepapers from Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America (AMEPA) members and other stakeholders.
The subcommittee asked the GAO to conduct a study that focuses on the coordination among contractor efforts and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) efforts to oversee these contractors to ensure they are working efficiently and effectively while guaranteeing that beneficiaries are receiving care to which they are entitled. Among other questions, the letter asked whether the contractors’ audit criteria and methodologies are valid, clear, and consistent; why the contractors often ask for similar information from providers; and if CMS has a strategic plan to coordinate and oversee its audit activities and, if so, how is that plan implemented and overseen.
