The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is granting exceptions under certain Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs to hospitals and other health care facilities in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey.
The exceptions apply to acute-care hospitals, prospective payment system–exempt cancer hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, outpatient dialysis facilities, long-term care hospitals, and ambulatory surgical centers. If located in one of the Texas counties or Louisiana parishes designed as a major disaster county by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), these providers will be granted exceptions without submitting an extraordinary circumstances request.
The scope and duration of the exception is described in a memo released on Aug. 31. CMS will update the list of affected counties and parishes in the memo in accordance with FEMA. The agency also will continue to monitor the situation and adjust exempted reporting periods and submission deadlines accordingly.
Additional details and materials are available on the CMS’ hurricane site.