Expanded authority to deny enrollment and revoke billing privileges are among CMS's new tools. Here's what PTs need to know.

On February 3, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a new policy expanding its authority to deny or revoke enrollment in Medicare to physical therapists (PTs) and other health care providers who demonstrate a pattern of inappropriate billing or who owe debts to the program.

The policy was included in a rule issued on December 3, 2014, that stems from provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that give CMS the authority to clamp down on fraud and abuse. The move is part of a series of steps designed to protect Medicare's integrity that also includes increased prepayment and postpayment reviews, predictive modeling, and public release of Medicare billing records.