Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Approval of the Community Health Accreditation Program for Continued CMS-Approval of its Home Health Agency Accreditation Program, 17072-17073 [2012-6598]
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17072
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices
comments we receive by the date and
time specified in the DATES section of
this preamble, and, when we proceed
with a subsequent document, we will
respond to the comments in the
preamble to that document.
Upon completion of our evaluation,
including evaluation of comments
received as a result of this notice, we
will publish a final notice in the Federal
Register announcing the result of our
evaluation.
Authority: Section 1865 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395bb)
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance
Program; No. 93.773 Medicare—Hospital
Insurance Program; and No. 93.774,
Medicare—Supplementary Medical
Insurance Program).
Dated: March 13, 2012.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2012–6856 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
[CMS–2377–FN]
Medicare and Medicaid Programs;
Approval of the Community Health
Accreditation Program for Continued
CMS-Approval of its Home Health
Agency Accreditation Program
Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Final notice.
AGENCY:
This notice announces our
decision to approve the Community
Health Accreditation Program (CHAP)
for recognition as a national
accreditation program for home health
agencies (HHAs) seeking to participate
in the Medicare or Medicaid programs.
DATES: This final notice is effective
March 31, 2012 through March 31, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lillian Williams, (410) 786–8636, or
Patricia Chmielewski, (410) 786–6899.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
I. Background
Under the Medicare program, eligible
beneficiaries may receive covered
services in a home health agency (HHA)
provided certain requirements are met.
Sections 1861(m) and (o) and 1891 and
1895 of the Social Security Act (the Act)
establish distinct criteria for facilities
seeking designation as an HHA. Under
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:14 Mar 22, 2012
Jkt 226001
this authority, the minimum
requirements that an HHA must meet to
participate in Medicare are set forth in
regulations at 42 CFR part 484, which
determine the basis and scope of HHA
covered services, and the conditions for
Medicare payment for home health care.
Regulations concerning provider
agreements are at part 489 and those
pertaining to activities relating to the
survey and certification of facilities are
at part 488.
Generally, in order to enter into a
provider agreement with the Medicare
program, HHAs must first be certified by
a State survey agency as complying with
conditions or requirements set forth in
part 484. Thereafter, the HHA is subject
to regular surveys by a State survey
agency to determine whether it
continues to meet these requirements.
However, there is an alternative to State
compliance surveys. Accreditation by a
nationally-recognized accreditation
program can substitute for ongoing State
review.
Section 1865(a)(1) of the Act provides
that, if a provider entity demonstrates
through accreditation by an approved
national accreditation organization that
all applicable Medicare conditions are
met or exceeded, we may ‘‘deem’’ those
provider entities as having met the
requirements. Accreditation by an
accreditation organization is voluntary
and is not required for Medicare
participation.
If an accreditation organization is
recognized by the Secretary as having
standards for accreditation that meet or
exceed Medicare requirements, a
provider entity accredited by the
national accrediting body’s approved
program may be deemed to meet the
Medicare conditions. A national
accreditation organization applying for
CMS-approval of its accreditation
program under part 488, subpart A must
provide us with reasonable assurance
that the accreditation organization
requires the accredited provider entities
to meet requirements that are at least as
stringent as the Medicare conditions.
Our regulations concerning the
reapproval of accreditation
organizations are set forth at § 488.4 and
§ 488.8(d)(3). Section 488.8(d)(3)
requires accreditation organizations to
reapply for continued CMS-approval of
its accreditation program every six
years, or sooner as determined by us.
CHAP’s term of approval as a
recognized accreditation program for
HHAs expires March 31, 2012.
II. Deeming Applications Approval
Process
Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act
provides a statutory timetable to ensure
PO 00000
Frm 00072
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
that our review of deeming applications
is conducted in a timely manner. The
Act provides us with 210 calendar days
after the date of receipt of an application
to complete our survey activities and
application review process. Within 60
days of receiving a completed
application, we must publish a notice in
the Federal Register that identifies the
national accreditation body making the
request, describes the request, and
provides no less than a 30-day public
comment period. At the end of the
210-day period, we must publish an
approval or denial of the application.
III. Proposed Notice
In the September 23, 2011, Federal
Register (76 FR 59136), we published a
proposed notice announcing CHAP’s
request for continued CMS approval of
its HHA accreditation program. In the
proposed notice, we detailed our
evaluation criteria. Under section
1865(a)(2) of the Act and our regulations
at § 488.4 (Application and
reapplication procedures for
accreditation organizations), we
conducted a review of CHAP’s
application in accordance with the
criteria specified by our regulations,
which include, but are not limited to the
following:
• An onsite administrative review of
CHAP’s: (1) Corporate policies; (2)
financial and human resources available
to accomplish the proposed surveys; (3)
procedures for training, monitoring, and
evaluation of its surveyors; (4) ability to
investigate and respond appropriately to
complaints against accredited facilities;
and, (5) survey review and decisionmaking process for accreditation.
• A comparison of CHAP’s HHA
accreditation standards to our current
Medicare HHA conditions for
participation.
• A documentation review of CHAP’s
survey processes to:
≈≈ Determine the composition of the
survey team, surveyor qualifications,
and the ability of CHAP to provide
continuing surveyor training.
≈≈ Compare CHAP’s processes to
those of State survey agencies, including
survey frequency, and the ability to
investigate and respond appropriately to
complaints against accredited facilities.
≈≈ Evaluate CHAP’s procedures for
monitoring providers or suppliers found
to be out of compliance with CHAP
program requirements. The monitoring
procedures are used only when the
CHAP identifies noncompliance. If
noncompliance is identified through
validation reviews, the survey agency
monitors corrections as specified at
§ 488.7(d).
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices
≈≈ Assess CHAP’s ability to report
deficiencies to the surveyed facilities
and respond to the facility’s plan of
correction in a timely manner.
≈≈ Establish CHAP’s ability to
provide us with electronic data and
reports necessary for effective validation
and assessment of CHAP’s survey
process.
≈≈ Determine the adequacy of staff
and other resources.
≈≈ Review CHAP’s ability to provide
adequate funding for performing
required surveys.
≈≈ Confirm CHAP’s policies with
respect to whether surveys are
announced or unannounced.
≈≈ Obtain CHAP’s agreement to
provide us with a copy of the most
current accreditation survey together
with any other information related to
the survey as we may require, including
corrective action plans.
In accordance with section
1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act, the September
23, 2011 proposed notice (76 FR 59136)
also solicited public comments
regarding whether CHAP’s requirements
met or exceeded the Medicare
conditions of participation for HHAs.
We received no public comments in
response to our proposed notice.
IV. Provisions of the Final Notice
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
A. Differences Between CHAP’s
Standards and Requirements for
Accreditation and Medicare’s
Conditions and Survey Requirements
We compared the standards and
survey process contained in CHAP’s
application with the Medicare HHA
conditions for participation and our
State Operations Manual (SOM). Our
review and evaluation of CHAP’s
application for continued CMS-approval
were conducted as described in section
III of this final notice, and yielded the
following:
• To meet the requirements at
§ 488.12, CHAP revised its accreditation
decision letters to ensure that they
contain all the required elements
necessary for the Regional Office (RO) to
render a decision regarding approval of
a provider agreement for participation
in Medicare.
• To meet the requirements at
Chapter Five, section 5075.9 of the
SOM, CHAP revised its policies to
ensure all compliant investigations are
conducted within 45 calendar days,
following receipt of a complaint that
does not rise to the level of immediate
jeopardy.
• To meet the clinical records
requirements at Appendix B of the
SOM, CHAP developed and
implemented a monitoring plan to
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:14 Mar 22, 2012
Jkt 226001
ensure the minimum number of home
visits with clinical record reviews is
completed during a survey.
• CHAP amended its crosswalk to
ensure current CHAP standards are
clearly crosswalked to the following
regulatory requirements: §§ 484.12(b);
484.12(c); 484.14(b); 484.14(i)(3);
484.30(a); 484.32; 484.34(a);
486.36(b)(3)(ii); 484.36(d)(4)(ii);
484.36(d)(4)(iii); 484.36(e); 484.38;
484.48; 484.52; 484.55; 484.55(a)(1);
485.55(b)(1); and 484.55(d)(2).
B. Term of Approval
Based on the review and observations
described in section III of this final
notice, we have determined that CHAP’s
HHA accreditation program
requirements meet or exceed our
requirements. Therefore, we approve
CHAP as a national accreditation
organization for HHAs that request
participation in the Medicare program,
effective March 31, 2012 through March
31, 2018.
V. Collection of Information
Requirements
This document does not impose
information collection and
recordkeeping requirements.
Consequently, it need not be reviewed
by the Office of Management and
Budget under the authority of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 35).
Authority: Section 1865 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395bb).
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program No. 93.778, Medical Assistance
Program; No. 93.773 Medicare—Hospital
Insurance Program; and No. 93.774,
Medicare—Supplemental Medical Insurance
Program)
Dated: March 12, 2012.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2012–6598 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services
[CMS–7024–N]
Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s
Health Insurance Programs; Meeting of
the Advisory Panel on Outreach and
Education (APOE), May 2, 2012
Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00073
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
17073
This notice announces a
meeting of the Advisory Panel on
Outreach and Education (APOE) (the
Panel) in accordance with the Federal
Advisory Committee Act. The Panel
advises and makes recommendations to
the Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services on opportunities to enhance
the effectiveness of consumer education
strategies concerning Medicare,
Medicaid, and the Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP). This meeting
is open to the public.
DATES: Meeting Date: Wednesday,
May 2, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
Deadline for Meeting Registration,
Presentations and Comments:
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 5 p.m.,
EDT.
Deadline for Requesting Special
Accommodations: Wednesday, April 18,
2012, 5 p.m., EDT.
ADDRESSES: Meeting Location: The
Embassy Row Hotel, 2015
Massachusetts Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20036.
Meeting Registration, Presentations,
and Written Comments: Jennifer
Kordonski, Designated Federal Official
(DFO), Division of Forum and
Conference Development, Office of
Communications, Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services, 7500 Security
Boulevard, Mailstop S1–13–05,
Baltimore, MD 21244–1850 or contact
Ms. Kordonski via email at
Jennifer.Kordonski@cms.hhs.gov.
Registration: The meeting is open to
the public, but attendance is limited to
the space available. Persons wishing to
attend this meeting must register by
contacting the DFO at the address listed
in the ‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section of this
notice or by telephone at the number
listed in the ‘‘FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT’’ section of this notice, by the
date listed in the ‘‘DATES’’ section of this
notice. Individuals requiring sign
language interpretation or other special
accommodations should contact the
DFO at the address listed in the
‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section of this notice by
the date listed in the ‘‘DATES’’ section of
this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Kordonski, (410) 786–1840, or
on the Internet at https://www.cms.gov/
FACA/04_APOE.asp for additional
information. Press inquiries are handled
through the CMS Press Office at (202)
690–6145.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In accordance with section 10(a) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA), this notice announces a
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\23MRN1.SGM
23MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17072-17073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6598]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
[CMS-2377-FN]
Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Approval of the Community Health
Accreditation Program for Continued CMS-Approval of its Home Health
Agency Accreditation Program
AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS.
ACTION: Final notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces our decision to approve the Community
Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) for recognition as a national
accreditation program for home health agencies (HHAs) seeking to
participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs.
DATES: This final notice is effective March 31, 2012 through March 31,
2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lillian Williams, (410) 786-8636, or
Patricia Chmielewski, (410) 786-6899.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Under the Medicare program, eligible beneficiaries may receive
covered services in a home health agency (HHA) provided certain
requirements are met. Sections 1861(m) and (o) and 1891 and 1895 of the
Social Security Act (the Act) establish distinct criteria for
facilities seeking designation as an HHA. Under this authority, the
minimum requirements that an HHA must meet to participate in Medicare
are set forth in regulations at 42 CFR part 484, which determine the
basis and scope of HHA covered services, and the conditions for
Medicare payment for home health care. Regulations concerning provider
agreements are at part 489 and those pertaining to activities relating
to the survey and certification of facilities are at part 488.
Generally, in order to enter into a provider agreement with the
Medicare program, HHAs must first be certified by a State survey agency
as complying with conditions or requirements set forth in part 484.
Thereafter, the HHA is subject to regular surveys by a State survey
agency to determine whether it continues to meet these requirements.
However, there is an alternative to State compliance surveys.
Accreditation by a nationally-recognized accreditation program can
substitute for ongoing State review.
Section 1865(a)(1) of the Act provides that, if a provider entity
demonstrates through accreditation by an approved national
accreditation organization that all applicable Medicare conditions are
met or exceeded, we may ``deem'' those provider entities as having met
the requirements. Accreditation by an accreditation organization is
voluntary and is not required for Medicare participation.
If an accreditation organization is recognized by the Secretary as
having standards for accreditation that meet or exceed Medicare
requirements, a provider entity accredited by the national accrediting
body's approved program may be deemed to meet the Medicare conditions.
A national accreditation organization applying for CMS-approval of its
accreditation program under part 488, subpart A must provide us with
reasonable assurance that the accreditation organization requires the
accredited provider entities to meet requirements that are at least as
stringent as the Medicare conditions. Our regulations concerning the
reapproval of accreditation organizations are set forth at Sec. 488.4
and Sec. 488.8(d)(3). Section 488.8(d)(3) requires accreditation
organizations to reapply for continued CMS-approval of its
accreditation program every six years, or sooner as determined by us.
CHAP's term of approval as a recognized accreditation program for HHAs
expires March 31, 2012.
II. Deeming Applications Approval Process
Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act provides a statutory timetable to
ensure that our review of deeming applications is conducted in a timely
manner. The Act provides us with 210 calendar days after the date of
receipt of an application to complete our survey activities and
application review process. Within 60 days of receiving a completed
application, we must publish a notice in the Federal Register that
identifies the national accreditation body making the request,
describes the request, and provides no less than a 30-day public
comment period. At the end of the 210-day period, we must publish an
approval or denial of the application.
III. Proposed Notice
In the September 23, 2011, Federal Register (76 FR 59136), we
published a proposed notice announcing CHAP's request for continued CMS
approval of its HHA accreditation program. In the proposed notice, we
detailed our evaluation criteria. Under section 1865(a)(2) of the Act
and our regulations at Sec. 488.4 (Application and reapplication
procedures for accreditation organizations), we conducted a review of
CHAP's application in accordance with the criteria specified by our
regulations, which include, but are not limited to the following:
An onsite administrative review of CHAP's: (1) Corporate
policies; (2) financial and human resources available to accomplish the
proposed surveys; (3) procedures for training, monitoring, and
evaluation of its surveyors; (4) ability to investigate and respond
appropriately to complaints against accredited facilities; and, (5)
survey review and decision-making process for accreditation.
A comparison of CHAP's HHA accreditation standards to our
current Medicare HHA conditions for participation.
A documentation review of CHAP's survey processes to:
[boxvh][boxvh] Determine the composition of the survey team,
surveyor qualifications, and the ability of CHAP to provide continuing
surveyor training.
[boxvh][boxvh] Compare CHAP's processes to those of State survey
agencies, including survey frequency, and the ability to investigate
and respond appropriately to complaints against accredited facilities.
[boxvh][boxvh] Evaluate CHAP's procedures for monitoring providers
or suppliers found to be out of compliance with CHAP program
requirements. The monitoring procedures are used only when the CHAP
identifies noncompliance. If noncompliance is identified through
validation reviews, the survey agency monitors corrections as specified
at Sec. 488.7(d).
[[Page 17073]]
[boxvh][boxvh] Assess CHAP's ability to report deficiencies to the
surveyed facilities and respond to the facility's plan of correction in
a timely manner.
[boxvh][boxvh] Establish CHAP's ability to provide us with
electronic data and reports necessary for effective validation and
assessment of CHAP's survey process.
[boxvh][boxvh] Determine the adequacy of staff and other resources.
[boxvh][boxvh] Review CHAP's ability to provide adequate funding
for performing required surveys.
[boxvh][boxvh] Confirm CHAP's policies with respect to whether
surveys are announced or unannounced.
[boxvh][boxvh] Obtain CHAP's agreement to provide us with a copy of
the most current accreditation survey together with any other
information related to the survey as we may require, including
corrective action plans.
In accordance with section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act, the September
23, 2011 proposed notice (76 FR 59136) also solicited public comments
regarding whether CHAP's requirements met or exceeded the Medicare
conditions of participation for HHAs. We received no public comments in
response to our proposed notice.
IV. Provisions of the Final Notice
A. Differences Between CHAP's Standards and Requirements for
Accreditation and Medicare's Conditions and Survey Requirements
We compared the standards and survey process contained in CHAP's
application with the Medicare HHA conditions for participation and our
State Operations Manual (SOM). Our review and evaluation of CHAP's
application for continued CMS-approval were conducted as described in
section III of this final notice, and yielded the following:
To meet the requirements at Sec. 488.12, CHAP revised its
accreditation decision letters to ensure that they contain all the
required elements necessary for the Regional Office (RO) to render a
decision regarding approval of a provider agreement for participation
in Medicare.
To meet the requirements at Chapter Five, section 5075.9
of the SOM, CHAP revised its policies to ensure all compliant
investigations are conducted within 45 calendar days, following receipt
of a complaint that does not rise to the level of immediate jeopardy.
To meet the clinical records requirements at Appendix B of
the SOM, CHAP developed and implemented a monitoring plan to ensure the
minimum number of home visits with clinical record reviews is completed
during a survey.
CHAP amended its crosswalk to ensure current CHAP
standards are clearly crosswalked to the following regulatory
requirements: Sec. Sec. 484.12(b); 484.12(c); 484.14(b); 484.14(i)(3);
484.30(a); 484.32; 484.34(a); 486.36(b)(3)(ii); 484.36(d)(4)(ii);
484.36(d)(4)(iii); 484.36(e); 484.38; 484.48; 484.52; 484.55;
484.55(a)(1); 485.55(b)(1); and 484.55(d)(2).
B. Term of Approval
Based on the review and observations described in section III of
this final notice, we have determined that CHAP's HHA accreditation
program requirements meet or exceed our requirements. Therefore, we
approve CHAP as a national accreditation organization for HHAs that
request participation in the Medicare program, effective March 31, 2012
through March 31, 2018.
V. Collection of Information Requirements
This document does not impose information collection and
recordkeeping requirements. Consequently, it need not be reviewed by
the Office of Management and Budget under the authority of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 35).
Authority: Section 1865 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395bb).
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 93.778, Medical
Assistance Program; No. 93.773 Medicare--Hospital Insurance Program;
and No. 93.774, Medicare--Supplemental Medical Insurance Program)
Dated: March 12, 2012.
Marilyn Tavenner,
Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
[FR Doc. 2012-6598 Filed 3-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120-01-P
