Thursday, July 9, 2009

CMS Renews TJC's Deeming Authority for Critical Access Hospitals

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has renewed The Joint Commission's (TJC) deeming authority for the accreditation of critical access hospitals through November 21, 2011.

“Critical access hospitals are an important safety net, providing Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas with the care that they need,” says Mark Pelletier, R.N., M.S., executive director, Accreditation and Certification Services, The Joint Commission. “The Joint Commission is pleased to collaborate with CMS to provide quality oversight for these important providers of rural health care.”

Critical access hospitals serve rural areas, and usually located over 35 miles from another hospital. They receive cost-based reimbursement from Medicare. There are currently over 1,000 critical access hospitals nationwide.

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