Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015

Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) with respect to the practices of recovery audit contractors (RACs) under the Medicare program fin identifying underpayments and overpayments and recouping overpayments.

Incentive payments to a RAC for recovery activities are prohibited for FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years.

Payments for recovery activities shall be reduced, according to a sliding scale established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to any RAC with a complex audit denial rate at the end of a fiscal year, determined pursuant to a specified formula, that is .1% or greater.

The one-year timely filing limit for certain rebilled SSAct title XVIII part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) claims is eliminated, extending the deadline for the rebill to 180 days after final denial of the claim.

A determination of whether inpatient hospital services or inpatient critical access hospital services furnished to an individual are reasonable and necessary shall now be based solely on information available to the admitting physician at the time of the inpatient admission of the individual for such services, as documented in the medical record.