Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Well documented claims are more important than ever Your chances of being targeted for payback of alleged overpayments just went up - thanks to orders straight from the White House. In a May 8 memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget, released June 19, OMB Controller Linda Springer says states and local governments can now use a portion of recovered overpayments to pay for recovery contracts. What that means is that when a state contracts with a firm to identify and collect overpayments in, say, the Medicaid program, the contractor can be allowed a percentage-based cut - just as whistleblowers are under the False Claims Act. "Funds once lost forever now can be found with this sensible incentive in place," Springer maintains. Springer's memo (M-03-12) clarifies legislation passed last year designed to ensure that federally funded programs get all the money they're entitled to. Lesson Learned: Auditors now have more incentives than ever to identify - and collect -overpayments made to health care providers.