CMS issued final rule to reform burdensome regulations for providers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to reform Medicare regulations identified as “unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on health care providers and suppliers.” Revisions include eliminating the requirement that a physician must be onsite at a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) for at least once every two weeks. These facilities will still require a physician to be onsite for a sufficient amount of time, but it will depend on the needs of the facility and the patients. The rule also provides revisions and clarifications for transplant centers, long-term care, clinical laboratories and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs). Most of the changes will go into effect tomorrow, July 11. NRHA applauds CMS for working to reduce burdens for rural providers and facilities.