MHA's Executive Briefing

Federal bill aims to end The Joint Commission's deeming authority

Under a recently approved U.S. House of Representatives bill, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals would no longer automatically meet requirements under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Conditions of Participation.

Two different iterations of the bill, The Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007, have been passed in the House and Senate this month and must be reconciled between among lawmakers before moving forward. President Bush has indicated he will veto the bill.

One segment of the House bill revises H.R. 3162, Section 507 to repeal The Joint Commission's deemed status with CMS, which essentially allows the commission's accreditation program to meet CMS requirements.

Washington Watch summarizes the House bill here.

[ via Accreditation Connection ]

Congress opens JCAHO/JCR investigation

Three members of Congress last week opened an investigation into the JCAHO and its subsidiary, Joint Commission Resources Inc. (JCR),

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Max Baucus (D-MT), and Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) announced the investigation in a press release that included a letter to JCAHO President Dennis O'Leary asking for a lengthy list of information by June 8.

According to the May 19 press release, the Congressmen are seeking information about the relationship and possible conflicts of interest between the JCAHO and JCR and to account for results of the new survey process. And the letter represents a continued effort to "improve the performance and accountability of the accreditation process so that quality-related problems in hospitals are more readily identified and addressed, rather than missed entirely or allowed to persist."

The investigation follows a 2004 Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation also requested by Grassley, Baucus, and Stark. That investigation found deficiencies in JCAHO surveys when compared to Centers for Mediare & Medicaid Services (CMS) surveys, particularly in enviornment of care areas. The JCAHO answered that report by adding Life Safety Code® engineering surveyors to survey teams in hospitals with 200 beds or more.

Legislation sponsored in 2004 by Grassley, Baucus, and Stark would have brought JCAHO's accreditation process under the authority of CMS. Congress did not act on their legislation. Grassley, Baucus, and Stark said in the press release that they will introduce revised legislation based on "a number of factors including any new findings of the GAO."

"It's very important to determine whether or not the new accreditation process is delivering results and overcoming the shortcomings of the old system," said Grassley, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance. "Approval from the Joint Commission should be the gold standard, not a rubber stamp."

Click here to see the JCAHO's response to the press release and the letter to O'Leary.

[ via Accreditation Connection ]