From Healthcare IT News: The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General will review the accuracy of $14.6 billion in meaningful use payments made to hospitals by Medicare between 2011 and 2016. Earlier this year, the OIG estimated physicians were wrongfully paid $729 million under meaningful use.
Medicare incentive payments were authorized over a 5-year period to hospitals that adopted electronic health record technology. From January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services made Medicare EHR incentive payments to hospitals totaling $14.6 billion, the OIG said.
The Government Accountability Office identified improper incentive payments as the primary risk to the Medicare EHR incentive program. An OIG report described the obstacles that CMS faces in overseeing the Medicare EHR incentive program. In addition, previous OIG reviews of Medicaid EHR incentive payments found that state agencies overpaid hospitals by $66.7 million and would in the future overpay these hospitals an additional $13.2 million, the OIG said.
Read the full article here.
Kentucky REC can help your practice be better prepared when facing either a pre or post payment Meaningful Use Audit. When receiving an audit notice, most practices find that they have a very short time period to fulfill the request for a large amount of information. Kentucky REC offers a Meaningful Use Mock Audit service that will assist you in being ready for a potential audit. We will help you make sure that your practice is organized, having on hand the documentation that may be requested, and be fully prepared with the items needed at your finger tips for each program year.
If a provider is unable to prove they have met each objective and measure for Meaningful Use, they face the risk of failing the audit and their incentive money may be recouped. Per the EHR Incentive Program, documentation to support attestation data for meaningful use objectives and clinical quality measures should be retained for six years post-attestation. Providers and staff have worked hard to meet Meaningful Use objectives. Make sure you are ready for a Meaningful Use Audit and contact us at Kentucky REC to find out more and receive a quote for this helpful service. You can reach us by calling 859-323-3090.
