Congress is moving to give the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) more authority to crack down on quality problems six months after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) criticized the agency in two reports for not more closely enforcing hospice regulations. Meanwhile, CMS is expected to release more guidance for states and accreditors to strengthen the survey process. The OIG reports found that hospices surveyed in 2016 on average had four deficiencies. Meanwhile, between 2012 and 2016, 20% of hospices had at least one condition-level deficiency that jeopardized patient safety and health. The OIG made several recommendations in the reports for how CMS could step up enforcement, and the office is keeping tabs on CMS’ programs, according to Assistant Inspector General for Evaluations and Inspections Erin Bliss.
Read the full article: Regulators Work to Strengthen Hospice Oversight //
Source: https://hospicenews.com/2020/02/18/regulators-work-to-strengthen-hospice-oversight%ef%bb%bf