The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it is required to impose an automatic stay in the work of the four contractors selected for the Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) permanent program. This action is the result of protests filed with the General Accountability Office (GAO) by two unsuccessful bidders for the RAC program.
An automatic stay will stop work for all four RAC regional awards until a determination is made by GAO, as required under provisions of the Competition and Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA).
Under the CICA, GAO has 100 days to issue its decision, which means a decision would be due for these protests in early February. The four RAC contracts--and any work under those contracts--are on hold pending the outcomes of the protests. Read more about the RAC permanent program.
