CMS to Review Medicare, Medicaid Program Integrity Audits - July 24, 2012

The Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) will review the Medicare and Medicaid Program integrity audits to gauge the burden on providers. CMS hopes to issue recommendations by the end of this year on how to alleviate this burden. This review is in direct response to an American Medical Association request for CMS to address inefficiencies in the audit programs. Other stakeholders have voiced support for this review and are hopeful that CMS’ recommendations will result in program integrity reforms as early as next year. Recently, a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators has asked the Government Accountability Office to look into the effectiveness of program integrity audits, which makes this review even more timely.