CMS grants certain quality reporting exceptions for Hurricane Ida

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week granted certain Medicare quality reporting exceptions to acute-care hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, prospective payment system-exempt cancer hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in counties affected by Hurricane Ida. CMS also determined that the automatic extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policy will apply to Merit-based Incentive Payment System eligible clinicians in Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated disaster areas.

The cited exceptions only apply to providers in the federally designated disaster areas, but other providers may request extraordinary circumstances exceptions. Providers in the disaster areas also may request additional exceptions through the ECE process, which CMS will decide on a case-by-case basis.