Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM)

Current Audit

Maine is currently participating in a PERM audit for Reporting Year (RY) 2027 which covers randomly selected paid claims with a payment date from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

For PERM RY 2027 only, there will be no Medical Review. Providers should not be contacted for records requests for PERM RY 2027 only.

Error Rates

PERM is a federally contracted audit process that measures improper payments in Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and produces error rates for each program. Error rates only indicate that a payment made did not meet statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements; these are not fraud rates.

Financial Impact of Errors and Lack of Documentation

All errors are considered improper payments. Maine is required to reimburse the federal government for all improper payments and has the right to seek recoupment from those providers. See the PERM Audit: Common Errors for errors found during our most recent PERM audit cycles.

PERM Contractors

CMS has contracted three organizations to administer the PERM audit:

  • Medical Review Contractor: Empower AI, Inc.
  • Statistical Review Contractor: The Lewin Group
  • Eligibility Review Contractor: Booz Allen Hamilton

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Information

Contact Information

  • For questions about medical records requests, including questions on the terminology used in some of the communications from Empower AI, Inc., please contact the Empower AI, Inc. Medical Records Manager. The contact information is printed on the bottom of the documentation request letter that you received.
  • You can email CMS with general questions on the federal PERM program and provider specific at PERMProviders@cms.hhs.gov. Please DO NOT send medical records to this contact.
  • Please contact Kealoha Rosso by phone at (207) 624-6929 or by email for State of Maine-specific questions. Please DO NOT send medical records to this contact.