In the intricate landscape of the healthcare industry, the importance of compliance cannot be overstated. Recent instances of non-compliance and overpayment concerns within the sector have underscored the critical need for understanding and implementing effective risk adjustment practices. Risk adjustment audits play a vital role in this process, as they not only mitigate financial risks but also foster trust and sustainability within the healthcare ecosystem. Let’s take a look at how you can protect your organization by promoting a culture of compliance.

Understanding RADV

At the core of efficient healthcare management lies the Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) program, an essential mechanism utilized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to rectify improper payments within Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. The RADV program relies on a sophisticated risk adjustment payment model, emphasizing the accurate reporting and coding of patient risk, ultimately enabling healthcare providers to predict individual care costs more accurately and allocate resources efficiently.

The Importance of Compliance in Risk Adjustment

Effective risk adjustment is pivotal to ensure fair and adequate compensation for health plans, as well as to guarantee that beneficiaries are enrolled in plans that suit their specific healthcare needs. Compliance plays a crucial role in minimizing payment errors, fostering a more effective, transparent, and equitable healthcare system. By adhering to the compliance protocols during risk adjustment audits, healthcare providers can significantly enhance their service delivery and overall operational efficiency.

Types of RADV Audits and Their Purpose

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conduct two distinct types of RADV audits to maintain the integrity of the system.

1. Annual national-level audits are primarily aimed at estimating the national MA improper payment rate, ensuring that the healthcare system remains financially sustainable.

2. Contract-level audits, on the other hand, are designed to identify and recover any improper payments made to specific Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs). These audits heavily rely on the accuracy and validity of the diagnoses submitted by healthcare providers, emphasizing the critical role of compliance in ensuring accurate and reliable data submission.

The Impact of Non-Compliance

The consequences of non-compliance are multifaceted. Non-compliance can lead to substantial financial penalties, significantly impacting the sustainability of healthcare organizations and insurance providers. Legal implications resulting from non-compliance can tarnish an organization’s reputation and erode the trust of patients and stakeholders. Increased regulatory scrutiny from risk adjustment audits may divert resources from core activities, leading to operational inefficiencies and increased operational costs, ultimately affecting the overall quality of patient care. Furthermore, the types of errors that may be flagged during a RADV audit also suggest inaccurate medical records that could negatively impact patient care.

Building A More Compliant Healthcare Organization

There are tools available that can help healthcare organizations with their compliance efforts. An end-to-end risk adjustment platform offers many compliance-related benefits that may be missing when an organization uses multiple vendors for risk adjustment solutions. The main benefit is that all risk adjustment information is consolidated in one place, making it relatively simple to retrieve and analyze data. With these analytics, health organizations can proactively review coding and submissions to identify gaps in care and find potential coding errors. This gives organizations an opportunity to fix errors before they appear in an audit. Similarly, if an organization is tapped for an audit, they will be better able to prepare if all of their data is consolidated on one platform. 

A single end-to-end risk adjustment platform may also offer additional services to assist with coding/submissions accuracy and the overall effectiveness of a risk adjustment program. For example, the Episource Clarity Platform offers highly advanced technical solutions to review coding and submissions for accuracy. We also offer a service where our experts review your overall risk adjustment program and provide actionable recommendations for optimization. In addition, the Clarity Platform offers analytics, coding, submissions, medical record retrieval, and everything else health plans and providers need to master risk adjustment.

The Way Forward

Maintaining compliance with RADV audits is not merely a regulatory requirement; it is a strategic imperative for healthcare organizations aiming to ensure their long-term sustainability and financial stability. By prioritizing compliance, healthcare providers can foster trust, ensure better resource allocation, and enhance the overall quality of patient care in an increasingly complex and demanding healthcare environment. Adhering to compliance protocols should be seen as a strategic investment in building a robust, efficient, and trustworthy healthcare ecosystem.

References

Risk adjustment practitioner. RISE. (n.d.). https://www.risehealth.org/rise-institute/online-courses/risk-adjustment-practitioner/