WASHINGTON (July 16, 2014)—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) has launched fixmedicareaudits.org as the new headquarters for DME audit reform.
The site will act as a one-stop shop for visitors to learn everything they need to know about audit reform and how to support the Audit Improvement and Reform (AIR) Act. The AIR Act, H.R. 5083, will make the audit process more efficient, bring back clinical inference, increase transparency, mandate education and outreach and reward suppliers for low error rates.
"From a strategic standpoint, bringing together all of our resources and initiatives on this issue on a platform such as fixmedicareaudits.org will help us educate policymakers, opinion leaders and the industry about the need for significant improvements for the Medicare audit process," said AAHomecare President and CEO Tom Ryan. "The new site will serve as a rallying point for the home medical equipment community to come together in support of the AIR Act, which will apply common-sense fixes to one of the most pressing challenges facing our industry today."
The site brings together the multiple components behind AAHomecare’s audit reform strategy, including the HME Audit KEY audit data collection system, audit education resources and Share Your Audit Story, a platform to share how audits have hurt patients and providers. The site includes:
Get the Facts About Medicare Audits—Learn the basics about audits, how they impact access to care and the alphabet soup of auditors. AAHomecare members can also learn how to get involved in changing audit policy through the AAHomecare Regulatory Council and Audit Task Force.
Audit Reform: The AIR Act—Review the key provisions of the newly introduced Audit Improvement and Reform Act (AIR Act), H.R. 5083, including the issue brief, section by section and full bill text for more detail. Visitors can learn why they should support the bill and take action by sending an email to their elected official.
The HME Audit Key—Using data to quantify the impact of audits on the industry and report compelling facts that policymakers cannot ignore is a cornerstone of AAHomecare’s audit reform strategy. This initiative, called the HME Audit Key, is a new audit data collection and tracking system that will compile industry data on audits. HME stakeholders should join the growing list of companies who have pledged financial support for this massive undertaking that will benefit the entire industry.
Share Your Audit Story—AAHomecare is collecting stories about how audits have personally affected HME beneficiaries and providers. This is an important opportunity help inform policymakers about the real problems with this program. AAHomecare will use this information to continue to spread the word about challenges with audits with regulatory agencies, industry stakeholders and Congress.
It is imperative that every provider share this valuable industry resource, activate their grassroots networks and urge their elected official to support the AIR Act.
To learn more, visit fixmedicareaudits.org or aahomecare.org, and follow @AAHomecare on Twitter.
