As part of its 2018 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective
Payment System and Long Term Acute Care Hospital Prospective
Payment System Final Rule released on August 2, the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid (CMS) withdrew a controversial rule that would have
required national accreditation organizations, like The Joint
Commission, to publicly release their survey reports and corrective
action plans within 90 days after visiting a healthcare
organization.
The proposal, issued in April, was an attempt to improve
transparency and provide additional information for consumers
regarding the quality of care rendered by healthcare providers, was
withdrawn after CMS considered public comments. However, it does
not appear that the issue is dead, as CMS also announced that it
"is committed to ensuring that patients have the ability to
review the findings used to determine that a facility meets the
health and safety standards required for Medicare
participation" and that "further review, consideration,
and refinement of this proposal is necessary to ensure that CMS
establishes requirements, consistent with our statutory authority,
that will inform patients and continue to support high quality
care."
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