AHA urges CMS to reconsider Medicare program integrity rule

The AHA “strongly supports efforts to reduce fraud and abuse in the Medicare program,” but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ final rule on program integrity enhancements to the provider enrollment process includes “overly burdensome and unworkable provisions that set providers up for failure and possible enforcement actions,” the association said in comments submitted today. “The rule is completely at odds with the agency’s signature Patients Over Paperwork initiative insofar as it imposes reporting requirements that would be difficult, if not impossible, for providers to comply with and fails to protect well-meaning providers from inappropriate delays, denials or revocation of their enrollment,” AHA wrote. It expressed disappointment that CMS did not adopt substantive recommendations voiced by AHA and other stakeholders, and urged the agency to postpone the rule’s effective date and reassess the feasibility of the requirements.