AHA comments on proposed changes to Medicare enrollment requirements

The AHA today recommended changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed rule on program integrity enhancements to the provider enrollment process to protect well-meaning providers from inappropriate delays, denials or revocation. While the association strongly supports efforts to reduce fraud and abuse in the Medicare program, “enrollment should not be put at risk for minor administrative errors, and providers should not be held responsible for reporting information that they have no ability to access or verify,” wrote AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels. “In addition, providers should not be required to report information prior to a final resolution of an appeal, nor should they be subject to a substantial new reporting burden for information to which the agency already has access.”