On Thursday, April 10, 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) withdrew its most recent data gathering initiative, the Disclosure of Financial Relationships Report. CMS has withdrawn its request for approval, at least for now, to collect detailed information on physician hospital financial relationships during the cost reporting periods ending in 2006. The DFRR would have required 500 "unidentified" hospitals to provide detailed information on the hospital's financial relationships, including physician investors in the hospital, as well as all physician agreements such as office and equipment leases, personal services and recruiting arrangements and isolated transactions. For additional information on the DFFR survey proposed last year by CMS, please see the Waller Lansden bulletin at this link.
The DFRR also would have permitted CMS to levy fines of up to $10,000 per day for failure to respond. CMS estimated that it would take a hospital only six hours to complete the survey. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, prior to circulating the form, CMS is required to obtain the approval of the Office of Management and Budget. CMS' request to withdraw its request for approval is fortunate for the hospital community at this time when many hospitals are struggling to respond to the voluminous requests from CMS contractors, particularly, recovery audit contractors.
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