First Quarter HME Audit Key Report Released

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 13, 2017)—The latest HME Audit Key survey results, running through the first quarter of 2017, show continued appeal determinations in favor of suppliers in several product categories, including overturn rates of 68 percent for respiratory products, 77 percent for ostomy, urological, wound care, and diabetic supplies, and 81 percent for NPWT devices and supplies. Other highlights from this round include:

• 37 percent of hospital beds, support surfaces, and manual wheelchair new patients were subject to MAC prepayment audit, compared to 11 percent for respiratory products and single-digit rates for other major categories.
• 68 percent of MAC prepayment denials were appealed.
• 71 percent of completed MAC prepayment audits were paid upon review.
• 67 percent of completed appeal determinations nationwide were in favor of suppliers.

See the complete report here. While these results are bringing the burdensome nature of the audit process into focus, we need more industry participation to be able to use this data to make our case to CMS and Capitol Hill. Please support this effort by participating in the next round.

New Data Submission Round Opens July 17
The next HME Audit Key data submission period, covering the time period through the second quarter of 2017, opens Monday, July 17. Even if you haven’t previously participated or have skipped rounds, you can still take part in this round.

Please help fight back against a broken audit and appeal system by participating in the HME Audit Key. Registration and participation is free, and is open to all suppliers, whether AAHomecare members or not. Register and submit your information at hmeauditkey.org—and see additional info about the Audit Key here.

Brightree Tool Streamlines Audit Key Data Collection
Brightree customers have the option of printing a report from their My Files folder to answer many of the operational questions on the quarterly survey.

To print the report, simply retrieve the report named AAH_Output.csv from the Inbox for the My Files page within Brightree, and open the report in a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. Please see comprehensive guidance for using the Brightree report here: PDF version/MS Word version.

Visit hmeauditkey.org for more information.