News Briefs: DOJ Seeks Transfer or Dismissal of Humana Case Challenging RADV Extrapolation

Dec 21
Dec 21, 2023

The Dept. of Justice on Dec. 15 filed a motion to transfer or dismiss Humana Inc.’s case against the federal government and its use of extrapolation in Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) audits of Medicare Advantage insurers. After CMS in January finalized plans to begin extrapolating RADV audit findings in recovering improper payments starting with payment year 2018, Humana on Sept. 1 filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to vacate the rule and therefore stop CMS from applying its new audit policy. By excluding a “fee-for-service adjuster” that the agency had once promised would be used in the audits, the RADV audits “do not observe any actuarial standards at all,” the MA insurer argued in Humana Inc. et al v. Becerra et al (No. 4:23-cv-909-O). In its response filed in the Fort Worth division of the District Court, HHS argued that Humana hasn’t been harmed because CMS has not begun any audits under the challenged rule. Moreover, there is no certainty that Humana will be subject to audits under the new rule because CMS hasn’t “chosen the contracts to be audited under the rule for any payment year, nor selected a statistical sampling and extrapolation methodology for any such audits,” stated the response, which was obtained and posted by STAT. Read more
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Lauren Flynn Kelly

Lauren has been covering health business issues since the early 2000s and specializes in in-depth reporting on Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid and Medicare Part D. She also possesses a deep understanding of the complex world of pharmacy benefit management, having written AIS Health’s Radar on Drug Benefits from 2004 to 2005 and again from 2011 to 2016. In addition to her role as managing editor of Radar on Medicare Advantage, she oversees AIS Health’s publications and manages the health editorial staff. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in English.