Eli's Hospice Insider

Published on Wed May 11, 2022 PDF

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra signed a ninth extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency, effective April 16 and lasting through July 15. Some observers are wondering if it could be the last.

Rumblings of the PHE ending sooner rather than later are widespread among law- and policymakers. And the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is already starting to roll back certain waivers for facilities, including inpatient hospice facilities.

In an April 7 memo to State Survey Agencies, CMS notes it plans to eliminate certain “emergency declaration blanket waivers” for inpatient hospices and other facilities like skilled nursing facilities and hospitals. Hospices can say goodbye to waivers for “Facility and Medical Equipment Inspection, Testing & Maintenance (ITM) for Inpatient Hospice;” the requirement “to have an outside window or outside door in every sleeping room,” which facilitated quarantine; and Life Safety Code fire drill and temporary construction requirements, CMS notes in the memo at  www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-22-15-nh-nltc-lsc.pdf.

Not so fast: However, lawmakers may be loathe to cut off the PHE before midterm elections in November, observers note.