Department of Health and Human Services June 29, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would allow CMS to charge revisit user fees to health care facilities cited for deficiencies during initial certification, recertification, or substantiated complaint surveys. Consistent with the President's long-term goal to promote quality of health care and to cut the deficit in half by fiscal year (FY) 2009, the FY 2007 Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) budget request included both new mandatory savings proposals and a requirement that user fees be applied to health care providers that have failed to comply with Federal quality of care requirements. The ``Revisit User Fees'' would affect only those providers or suppliers for which CMS has identified deficient practices and requires a revisit to assure that corrections have been made. The fees are estimated at $37.3 million annually and would recover the costs associated with the Medicare Survey and Certification program's revisit surveys. The fees would take effect on the date of publication of the final rule, and would be available to CMS until expended.