The American College of Surgeons wrote a letter to U.S. Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) in support of his Fair Medical Audits Act of 2015, introduced this past May.
As private contractors receive contingency fees for each claim they deny, lawmakers and healthcare providers are concerned a lack of Recovery Audit Contractor accountability has resulted in inaccurate audit findings and a high volume of appeals.
The audit accountability bill would penalize contractors for a percentage of overturned appeals, require contractors reimburse providers for certain documentation requests, and reduce auditor's look-back period from four to two fiscal years.