Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday sent a letter to acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems demanding a “full accounting” of how the agency underestimated the extent of improper Medicare payments for durable medical equipment, the Miami Herald reports (Weaver, Miami Herald, 8/27). HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson on Monday released a federal audit that found that Medicare officials underestimated the amount of incorrect payments for DME in 2006 and that the miscalculation was caused by the agency’s failure to have auditors follow CMS’ policy for checking claims. CMS had estimated a payment error rate of 7.5%, or about $700 million, in improper payments. The HHS audit found an “error rate” of nearly 29% for a sample of DME claims. The report cited 20 payment errors identified by the Medicare audit and 73 errors the contractor had not identified (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/26).
