Increased scrutiny on long-term care providers’ infection control and emergency preparedness execution could be coming in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is expected to add COVID-19 topics to its annual work plan, Bloomberg Law reported.
The agencies plan to add at least two coronavirus-related provider reviews focused on Medicaid nursing home life safety and emergency preparedness. The reviews would “determine whether [long-term care facilities] that received Medicare or Medicaid funding complied with new Federal requirements for life and safety and emergency and infectious disease control requirements,” the report explained.
HHS and the OIG aren’t the only federal entities placing increased scrutiny on nursing providers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that surveyors will also be paying close attention to healthcare providers’ compliance with infection prevention and control policies amid the coronavirus outbreak in a February notice.
