Healthcare Financial News

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule requiring all long-term care facilities to be equipped with sprinkler systems by Aug. 13, 2013, in order to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The rule also stipulated maintenance requirements once the sprinkler systems are installed. The federal regulations will not preempt more stringent state and local requirements.

The final rule acknowledges the substantial capital investment needed for this purchase and installation and defers to Congress and states to provide financial assistance. The five-year phase-in period is intended to mitigate this financial impact. Download the final rule.

The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services found that 15 percent of home health agencies (HHAs) repeated the same deficiency citation on three consecutive surveys, according to a new report. The most frequently repeated deficiency citation is related to patient plans of care. On the three most recent surveys, these HHAs received, on average, twice as many deficiency citations per survey compared with HHAs that did not repeat citations. Most of the HHAs identified with deficiencies are located in six states and tend to be concentrated in highly populated areas. The report also identified opportunities to improve oversight of HHAs by CMS.

The report recommended that CMS use existing survey data to identify patterns of deficiency citations and at-risk HHAs and that CMS require surveyors to review all available survey data prior to each upcoming survey. The report also recommended that CMS implement intermediate sanctions (currently, termination from the Medicare program is the only sanction for poorly performing HHAs). Download the report.