By Healthcare Facilities Today

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a new proposed rule in December, 2013, that could affect all healthcare providers that receive Medicare reimbursement funds, including hospitals, critical access hospitals, nursing homes and ambulatory care surgeries, according to an article on the FacilityCare website.

The proposed rule on emergency preparedness would establish national emergency requirements for all Medicare & Medicaid participating providers and suppliers, to ensure that they adequately plan for both natural and man-made disasters, the article said. CMS has identified 17 providers and suppliers that would be affected by this proposed rule:

• Religious nonmedical healthcare institutions

• Ambulatory surgical centers

• Hospices

• Psychiatric residential treatment facilities

• Program for the all-inclusive care for the elderly

• Hospitals

• Transplant centers

• Long-term care facilities

• Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities

• Home health agencies

• Comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities

• Critical access hospitals

• Clinics, rehabilitation agencies and public health agencies

• Community mental health centers

• Organ procurement organizations

• Rural health clinics

• End-stage renal disease facilities

The proposed rule on emergency preparedness would apply to the 17 institutions listed, but the rule would apply differently based on each facility’s anticipated needs during a disaster, the article said.

Read the article.