CMS to Eliminate Overly Harsh Penalties in Physician Revocation Rules

The Obama administration has proposed a change that would quickly reinstate physicians who are kicked out of the Medicare program because of a clerical or administrative error, according to an American Medical News report.

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CMS acknowledges that the consequences for missing Medicare enrollment deadlines are overly harsh and can hurt access to care for patients, according to a rule proposed on Oct. 18. CMS has proposed rejecting this policy along with a number of other regulations considered too strict.

According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the new rules reflect the Obama administration’s commitment to reducing regulatory burdens as much as possible. CMS proposed stopping enrollment revocations that occur when a physician fails to respond to a revalidation or other information request from the agency. The penalty is a re-enrollment ban for up to three years, a harsh punishment considering revocation is often caused by a clerical mistake or lost letter.

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