On September 25, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published updated guidance related to the Emergency Preparedness (EP) regulations that were published on September 30, 2019. Included in this revised guidance is a surveyor worksheet that is meant to assist surveyors, as well as providers/suppliers, in determining compliance with the EP testing requirements. CMS regulations allow for an exemption to the testing requirements during or after an actual emergency. If a provider experiences an actual natural or man-made emergency that requires activation of their emergency plan, inpatient and outpatient providers will be exempt from their next required full-scale community-based exercise or individual, facility-based functional exercise following the onset of the actual event.
In light of the Public Health Emergency (PHE), CMS is clarifying the testing exercise requirements to ensure that surveyors, as well as providers and suppliers, are aware of the exemption available based on activation of their emergency plans. Access the full CMS Memo (QSO-20-41-ALL) to review all of the revisions and updates:
- Testing Exercise Definitions;
- Changes Specific to Testing Exercise Requirements;
- Exemption Based on Actual Natural or Man-made Emergency; and
- Conducting Assessments & Documentation.
Questions about this CMS memorandum can be addressed to: QSOG_EmergencyPrep@cms.hhs.gov.
