The federal government shutdown hasn’t derailed the new health-insurance program, but it has suspended routine safety inspections of hospitals and nursing homes, Miles Moffeit said in a recent blog posted on the Dallas News web site.
According to Moffeit, Texas is among the states hardest hit. Its nearly $1 million monthly appropriation to pay for such reviews remains frozen until Congress passes a new funding bill.
States conduct investigations of healthcare facilities on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the nation’s primary overseer of federally funded care facilities. In recent days, states have been under a directive from the agency to limit their inspections largely to cases posing "immediate"jeopardy” to patients, and those where a hospital’s funding is at risk, according to the blog.
But "standard surveys," which are the annual inspections of nursing homes and hospitals, and "initial surveys" to gauge whether a care facility being proposed can receive Medicare funding can't proceed.
Read the blog.
Avoiding Mistakes in Healthcare Site Selection
Can Rural Hospitals Be Saved?
Ascension Saint Thomas Breaks Ground on Hospital and Health Campus in Tennessee
The Hidden Risks of QAC Disinfectants in Healthcare Facilities
Sprinkler Compliance: Navigating Code Mandates, Renovation Triggers and Patient Safety