Payer Power

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has long relied on Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs) and Medicaid Integrity Contractors (MICs) to address inappropriate payments and ensure program integrity for Medicare and Medicaid. Now, in an effort to improve coordination and reduce abrasion, CMS is consolidating the program integrity efforts previously carried out by ZPICs, MICs, and Program Safeguard Contractors (PSCs) into one Unified Program Integrity Contractor (UPIC) program.  The first episode of HMS’s podcast mini-series, “Federal Audits: What States Need to Know,” takes a closer look at what states can expect from this new UPIC program.