Finally! "Deemed status" logjam ends
Finally! Deemed status’ logjam ends
After much delay, the Baltimore-based Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has moved toward giving "deemed status" to two Same-day surgery (SDS) accrediting bodies, which will make it easier for surgery centers to receive Medicare certification.
Due to budget constraints, HCFA had run low on funds to pay states to conduct Medicare certification surveys, which led to a backlog of centers on a waiting list. New centers seeking their initial certification or established centers that previously had not sought certification were unable to treat Medicare patients until the surveys occurred. (See Same-Day Surgery, May 1996, p. 56.)
Rule to be final in December
Under the HCFA rule, published as a proposed rule in the July 23 Federal Register1 and expected to become final in December, centers that are accredited by the Skokie, IL-based Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care or the Oakbrook Terrace, IL-based Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations are automatically deemed to be certified for Medicare reimbursement by HCFA. Re-certification surveys also would be unnecessary for facilities that maintained accreditation.
The "deemed status" rule was set for release in April but was delayed by an amendment to a House bill that affected HCFA’s statutory requirements related to granting deemed status, says Terri Harris, MBA, a health insurance specialist with HCFA.
Reference
1. 61 Fed Reg (July 23, 1996) 38,207-38,212.
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