The mission of the Recovery Audit Program is to find and fix improper payments made by Medicare. In 2005, a demonstration program employed Recovery Auditors to help in finding overpayments and underpayments made by Medicare. Between 2005 and 2008, it was found that around $38 million in underpayments were made to healthcare providers by Medicare, and around $900 million in overpayments were made to a Medicare trust fund. The demonstration turned out to be a huge success.
As a result, Congress required a permanent and national Recovery Audit Program. On January 1, 2010 under the Tax Relief and Healthcare Act of 2006 the Recovery Audit Program was designated permanent in all fifty states. In order to get the program started the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services divided the country into four regional areas. In 2007, a bidding competition was held to select four recovery auditors. The winners were announced in October of 2008. The winners are as follows: Diversified Collection Services, Inc. won Region A, which consists of the following states: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. However, Region A is now contracted to Performant Recovery. CGI Technology and Solutions, Inc. won Region B, which consists of the following states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. Connolly Healthcare won Region C, which consists of the following states: West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado. Health Data Insights, Inc. won Region D, which consists of the following states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska. .
However, in late October two unsuccessful bidders filed protests which resulted in the program stopping.
