Regarding “
RAC expansion questioned”:
There is a critical issue that hospitals are having with these contractors. The organizations that are selected by the government for Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractor program and the Medicaid Integrity Contractor program lack the technology to support the process. Hospitals should have the ability to sign into a web-based system that has the following:
- Letters requesting information. Today this is done through the mail which can be easily lost or misdirected. By using the internet, there will be record and hospitals will not have to set up manual processes to capture and store the documents.
- Status on open items. A hospital should be able to access the contractors system at any time to determine the status of the audit on a claim and what remains unresolved.
- Communications. Any questions the provider has should be communicated through e-mail removing delays because of phone tag and other miscommunications.
Hospitals are making a significant investment in systems to track and maintain their internal systems. Why shouldn’t these organizations be held up to the same status?
Jim McNiff
Associate vice president
Montefiore Medical Center
New York
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