CMS Recognizes The Joint Commission's Home Health Accreditation

Oakbrook Terrace, IL - The Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has again granted The Joint Commission deeming authority for home health organizations.

The CMS designation means that home health agencies accredited by The Joint Commission will be "deemed" as meeting Medicare and Medicaid certification requirements. Home health agencies choosing this option achieve "deemed status" by virtue of their successful achievement of Joint Commission accreditation. CMS found that The Joint Commission's standards for home health meet or exceed those established by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. More than 2.4 million elderly and disabled people with Medicare receive care from home health agencies throughout the United States each year, according to CMS.

"The Joint Commission is pleased to once again receive this recognition of its accreditation of home health agencies," says Debra Zak, Ph.D., R.N., executive director, Home Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. "This public-private collaboration between CMS and The Joint Commission provides quality oversight for home health agencies, which are increasingly important as patients receive care outside of the traditional hospital setting and in their homes." The federal government's Final Notice granting the six-year deeming authority to The Joint Commission for its accredited home health agencies was published in the Federal Register on March 28. The Joint Commission has been granted deeming authority for home health organizations since 1993.

Accreditation is voluntary and seeking deemed status through accreditation is an option for home health agencies, not a requirement. Organizations seeking Medicare approval may choose to be surveyed either by an accrediting body, such as The Joint Commission, or by state surveyors on behalf of CMS. All deemed status surveys are unannounced. Established in 1988, The Joint Commission Home Care Accreditation Program accredits more than 3,800 organizations that offer a variety of services in the patient's or client's home. More information about the Home Care Accreditation Program is available on The Joint Commission website at www.jointcommission.org,

SOURCE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services