The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
announced a partial delay of Phase II of the Requirements of Participation
(RoP) rule late last week. The Survey and Certification Group (S&C) at CMS
issued two memos just after the Thanksgiving holiday delaying enforcement
provisions of the rule, but were short of a complete delay.
The action will stall the use of civil monetary penalties,
denial of payment for new admissions, and discretionary termination for 18
months while facilities are educated about the new requirements.
CMS stopped short of delaying the new survey process
included in the rule. While providers will not have to deal with financial
penalties associated with non-compliance, there is still a significant
financial burden in complying with the new survey system.
The delay comes after two letters were sent to CMS from
Capitol Hill, one from the House with 122 bipartisan signatories and a Senate
version with 22 signatories.
The first memo, titled Temporary Enforcement Delays for
Certain Phase 2 F-Tags and Changes to Nursing Home Compare, is available
online here. The second memo, titled Preparation for Launch of New
Long-Term Care Survey Process (LTCSP), is available online here.
AHCA continues to work with CMS and Administrator Seema
Verma to make regulations more provider-friendly and less costly.
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