Managing Your Chargemaster as a First Line of Defense Against RAC

The final RAC Demonstration Report released in June 2008 showed $993 million, or 86%, in Medicare overpayments and $38 million, or 4%, in underpayments. Thus far, over $700 million has been returned to the Medicare Trust Funds. In new guidance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated that recovery audit contractors (RACs) will be paid the full contingency fee on overpayments identified through extrapolation. This could trigger significant recoupments from even modest audits!

Wipfli’s Comprehensive Chargemaster services are designed to ensure a complete, accurate, and compliant foundation for billing services—and serve as an important first step toward RAC preparedness. While electronic chargemaster tools may be a first step, they cannot address the uniqueness of the processes, people, and technology in your facility.