Medicaid Providers: CMS Oversight Should Ensure State Implementation of Screening and Enrollment Requirements
States must screen and enroll health care providers in Medicaid according to federal and state rules. These rules are designed to exclude providers who don’t meet minimum standards, which can help prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Congress established new federal rules in 2010 and 2016, yet officials we spoke with in 5 of 7 states said they haven’t implemented all of them.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversees states’ administration of Medicaid, but it doesn’t have a complete picture of state compliance with the new rules. We recommended that it expand its oversight.
The Medicaid program is on our High Risk List.
Summary of Provider Screening Activities for Medicaid Enrollment
Chart showing fraud, waste, and abuse risk levels for provider activities
What GAO Found
Officials from seven selected states that GAO interviewed described challenges they faced implementing new Medicaid provider screening and enrollment requirements, established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010 and the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016. These challenges included establishing procedures for risk-based screenings, using federal databases and collecting required information, and screening an increased volume of providers. Due in part to these challenges, officials from five of the seven selected states told GAO they had not implemented certain requirements. For example, one state plans to launch its new information technology system, which automates screenings, before it will enroll providers under contract with managed care organizations, as required under these laws.
Summary of Provider Screening Activities for Medicaid Enrollment
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)—the federal agency that oversees Medicaid—supports states' implementation of new requirements with tailored optional consultations, such as CMS contractor site visits that examine the extent of states' implementation. Yet, because these are optional, states that need support might not participate, and CMS would not have information on those states. CMS uses other methods to oversee states' compliance, such as, the Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) process for estimating improper payments, and focused program integrity reviews.
PERM. This process assesses states' compliance with provider screening and enrollment requirements, but does not assess compliance for all providers and all requirements, and occurs once every 3 years.
Focused program integrity reviews. These reviews examine specific areas in Medicaid, like state compliance with provider screening and enrollment requirements, but have not been done in all states. CMS conducted reviews in 39 states in fiscal years 2014 through 2018.
Collectively, CMS's oversight methods do not provide it with comprehensive and timely reviews of states' implementation of the provider screening and enrollment requirements or the remediation of deficiences. As a result, CMS lacks assurance that only eligible providers are participating in the Medicaid program.
Why GAO Did This Study
A crucial component of protecting the integrity of the Medicaid program is ensuring that only eligible providers participate in Medicaid. States' non-compliance with provider screening and enrollment requirements contributed to over a third of the $36.3 billion estimated improper payments in Medicaid in 2018. To improve the integrity of the Medicaid program, PPACA and the 21st Century Cures Act established new requirements for screening and enrolling providers and expanded enrollment to include additional provider types.
In this report, GAO (1) describes challenges states faced implementing provider screening and enrollment requirements; and (2) examines CMS support for and oversight of states' implementation of these requirements. GAO reviewed federal laws and CMS guidance. GAO also reviewed CMS documents, including reports resulting from CMS oversight activities published from 2014 through 2018 for seven states. These states were selected based on their use of CMS's contractor site visits, among other things. GAO also interviewed officials from CMS and the seven selected states.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that CMS (1) expand its review of states' implementation of provider screening and enrollment requirements to include states that have not participated in optional consultations; and (2) for states not fully compliant with the requirements, annually monitor the progress of those states' implementation. The Department of Health and Human Services, the department that houses CMS, concurred with both recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | The Administrator of CMS should expand its review of states' implementation of the provider screening and enrollment requirements to include states that have not made use of CMS's optional consultations. Similar to CMS's contractor site visits, such reviews should include any necessary steps to address areas of noncompliance for all types of enrolled providers, including those under contract with managed care organizations. (Recommendation 1) |
CMS concurred with our recommendation. In June 2021, CMS issued an informational bulletin to introduce a series of tools for states and CMS to enhance monitoring and oversight of managed care, including new guidance for completing the Annual Managed Care program report. According to this guidance, in 2022, states will submit information on managed care indicators related to some provider screening and enrollment requirements, such as federal data base checks and disclosures. Further, in January 2023, CMS told us that all states had implemented site visits, which is a required activity for screening certain providers. CMS also told us that it offers optional consultations to states and completed a site visit to one state (California) in December 2022. CMS continues to provide targeted assistance to states that have not made use of CMS's optional consultations. Specifically, CMS provides technical assistance and ongoing support through monthly calls and ad-hoc emails to assess states' compliance. However, as of July 2021, all states opted to waive certain provider screening and enrollment requirements in an effort to help providers contain the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease. CMS will recognize these waivers until the end of the public health emergency. To fully address this recommendation, CMS needs to review all states' implementation of the provider screening and enrollment requirements, including states that have not made use of CMS's optional consultations. We will continue to monitor CMS's progress.
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| Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services | The Administrator of CMS should annually monitor progress toward addressing any areas of noncompliance related to the provider screening and enrollment requirements for any state with one or more corrective action plans. (Recommendation 2) |
HHS concurred with our recommendation. In May 2021, CMS told us that it will continue to ensure that states' Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) corrective action plans reflect identified areas of non-compliance, including areas related to provider screening and enrollment requirements. In December 2022, CMS told us that it continues to review its activities with respect to this recommendation and anticipates taking steps to address it. Specifically, CMS highlighted plans to (1) combine information collected through the PERM and its Provider Enrollment Operations Group to capture non-compliance with provider screening and enrollment requirements across states; (2) develop a dashboard to track states' progress toward full compliance with the requirements using voluntary, state-reported data and insights gained through ongoing consultations; and (3) work with non-compliant states to come into compliance by providing guidance and potential best practices. To fully address this recommendation, CMS needs to assess, on an annual basis, areas of non-compliance with provider screening and enrollment requirements, including those not identified through the PERM, for any states with one or more corrective actions. We will continue to monitor CMS's progress.
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