AAHomecare Makes Ready for ALJ-Delay Meeting

Feb. 12 discussion will address OMHA’s two-year delay on assigning judges to audit appeals.

• By David Kopf
• Jan 31, 2014

The American Association for Homecare is preparing to meet with CMS's Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) to discuss the office’s recent decision to delay assigning an Administrative Law Judge to any new audit appeals for two years.

OMHA’s decision sparked an uproar with not just HME providers, but the entire spectrum of healthcare providers impacted by CMS’s audit programs.

As a result, Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare, and Jay Witter, vice president of government affairs for AAHomecare, have registered to attend OMHA’s Feb. 12.

The Association says it also is sending a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that shares the industry’s perspective “on this misguided attempt to fix an audit system that needs a complete overhaul.”

Additionally, because the Association is working with other healthcare industry sectors to find a resolution for this situation, Heather Boyd, manager of regulatory affairs, participated in a RAC Monitor conference call on Monday that focused primarily on how hospitals plan to respond to the decision.

Other recent efforts by the association to address the audit situation include:

• AAHomecare worked on audits with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last fall when the Agency agreed to meet with Association staff and members of the Regulatory Council including Jeff Mastej, Kimberlie Rogers-Bowers, Judy Bunn, and Deb Silvers

• Last summer, the Association provided testimony to the Senate Finance Committee about problems with Medicare audits, as well as made recommendations on how Congress can reform the process.