Physicians will have to wait another year to learn how far back the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will search to collect overpayments they may have received from the Medicare program.
CMS has delayed the publishing of its final rule on procedures and policies for reporting and returning Medicare overpayments for at least another year, according to a notice published Feb. 13 in the Federal Register. The complexity of the rule and scope of comments warrants the extension of the timeline for publication, according to the notice.
“Based on both public comments received and internal stakeholder feedback, we have determined that there are significant policy and operational issues that need to be resolved in order to address all of the issues raised by comments to the proposed rule and to ensure appropriate coordination with other government agencies,” CMS officials wrote.
The proposed rule , published in 2012, recommended that overpayments be reported and returned if a provider identifies the overpayment within 10 years of the date the payment was received. The American Hospital Association and others criticized the proposal , arguing the 10-year time frame was unreasonable and would be burdensome for providers. Under the Affordable Care Act, doctors already must return overpayments within 60 days of identification.
In the notice, CMS officials reminded physicians and health care providers that even with the final rule’s delay, they are still subject to False Claims Act liability for failure to report and return overpayments under current regulations. The notice extends the publication time of the final rule until Feb. 16, 2016.
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