March 15, 2010

Medicare Recovery Audit Contracting: Weaknesses Remain in Addressing Vulnerabilities to Improper Payments, Although Improvements Made to Contractor Oversight

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed the Medicare Recovery Audit Contracting demonstration operated by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The GAO found that during the three-year demonstration, CMS failed to collect up to $231 million identified by the RACs. The GAO recommended that CMS improve inter-agency coordination to prioritize RAC activities and assess organizations' corrective plans to reduce the future likelihood of Medicare overpayments.