NABH Comments on CMS' New Survey and Certification Process for Psychiatric Hospitals

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday announced it has streamlined the process to survey the nation's psychiatric hospitals to review for compliance with participation requirements in one comprehensive survey.

Beginning in March, CMS will send psychiatric hospitals one survey to evaluate their compliance with both general hospital and psychiatric hospital participation requirements. CMS is not making any changes to the special psychiatric Conditions of Participation (CoPs) in this process.

Under this change, CMS will move the interpretive guidelines from State Operations Manual (SOM) Appendix AA, or the special psychiatric CoPs, into Appendix A, the CoPs for general hospitals. Subsequently CMS will delete Appendix AA. This change will allow CMS to issue a single survey and report to hospitals, rather than two.

"We appreciate CMS' attention on the special psychiatric CoPs, which is long overdue," said Shawn Coughlin, president and CEO at the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH). "At the same time, shifting these components into a single survey without reforming these CoPs does not provide relief to providers," he added. "The special psychiatric CoPs are no longer appropriate in today's environment of care. CMS should update the interpretive guidance to reflect modern methods of psychiatric services."

Click here to download The High Cost of Compliance, NABH's report about the costs associated with the regulatory burden placed on the nation's behavioral healthcare providers. Click here to read Monday's announcement from CMS.      

About NABH

The National Association for Behavioral Healthcare (NABH) advocates for behavioral healthcare and represents provider systems that treat children, adolescents, adults, and older adults with mental health and substance use disorders in more than 1,800 inpatient behavioral healthcare hospitals and units, residential treatment facilities, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs, medication assisted treatment centers, specialty behavioral healthcare programs, and recovery support services.  The association was founded in 1933.

SOURCE National Association for Behavioral Healthcare