The American Hospital Association sponsored an event last week to brief congressional staff members on hospitals' issues with Medicare Recovery Auditors, better known as RACs, according to an AHA News Now report.
Four health system representatives presented at the event: Gretchen Case, director of compliance and revenue integrity at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; Steven Hanks, MD, executive vice president and CMO of the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain; John Kerndl, national division CFO at Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals; and Don Sipes, vice president for regional services at Saint Luke's Health System in Kansas City, Mo.
AHA and health system officials argued Medicare RACs are increasingly denying payments for short-term inpatient stays.
"RACs are causing a great deal of uncertainty and expense for hospitals and also for patients. This is money that cannot then be directed toward patient-related care," Ms. Case said, according to the report. "Furthermore, our patients are either angry or confused when they learn these audits have caused an increase in their out-of-pocket payments or prevented them from qualifying for additional care following their stay in the hospital."
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