CMS anti-fraud contractors may get strengthen under the administration of Trump

Some experts believe that the CMS’ anti-fraud contractors could consolidate as part of the plan of President Donald Trump to cut federal spending.

Last August, CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) awarded 7 contracts via its Unified Program Integrity Contractor program, which consolidated few existing contractor programs. Extra or additional regrouping and trimming could depict the promise of Trump to “rein in government spending and streamline the fight against fraud,” Bloomberg BNA reported n the day of Thursday.
Ellyn Sternfield, a healthcare attorney for Mintz Levin said, “The concept of UPIC consolidation was to make better the efficiency of program integrity work, and the consolidation plan's part was the establishment of a unified case management system so that the contractors were not duplicating work or stepping on each other's cases.”
Judith Waltz, an attorney with Foley & Lardner, said that the consolidation could benefit healthcare providers by decreasing redundant programs and developing more uniform anti-fraud policies, but it could cause confusion.
“On the other hand, every time there is a contractor change, there is almost some disruption in operations that results in delays or worse if the files are not transitioned precisely,” Waltz claimed.