Bill could end Joint Commission's deeming authority

Under a recently approved House Bill, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals would no longer automatically meet requirements under CMS conditions of participation. Two different iterations of the bill, The Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007, have been passed in the House and Senate this month and must be reconciled between both the House and Senate before moving forward. President Bush has indicated he would veto the bill.

One segment of the House bill revises H.R. 3162, Section 507 to say: "Revocation of Deeming Authority of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Repeals JCAHO's unique statutory protection, effective eighteen months after enactment."

Washington Watch has provided a detailed summary of the House bill here: http://washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_3162.html

SEC. 507. REVOCATION OF UNIQUE DEEMING AUTHORITY OF THE JOINT COMMISSION FOR THE ACCREDITATION OF HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS.

(a) Revocation- Section 1865 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395bb) is amended--

(1) by striking subsection (a); and

(2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) as subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d), respectively.

(b) Conforming Amendments-

(1) Such section is further amended--

(A) in subsection (a)(1), as so redesignated, by striking `In addition, if' and inserting `If';

(B) in subsection (b), as so redesignated--

(i) by striking `released to him by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals,' and inserting `released to the Secretary by'; and

(ii) by striking the comma after `Association';

(C) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by striking `pursuant to subsection (a) or (b)(1)' and inserting `pursuant to subsection (a)(1)'; and

(D) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by striking `pursuant to subsection (a) or (b)(1)' and inserting `pursuant to subsection (a)(1)'.

(2) Section 1861(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)) is amended in the fourth sentence by striking `and (ii) is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, or is accredited by or approved by a program of the country in which such institution is located if the Secretary finds the accreditation or comparable approval standards of such program to be essentially equivalent to those of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals.' and inserting `and (ii) is accredited by a national accreditation body recognized by the Secretary under section 1865(a), or is accredited by or approved by a program of the country in which such institution is located if the Secretary finds the accreditation or comparable approval standards of such program to be essentially equivalent to those of such a national accreditation body.'.

(3) Section 1864(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395aa(c)) is amended by striking `pursuant to subsection (a) or (b)(1) of section 1865' and inserting `pursuant to section 1865(a)(1)'.

(4) Section 1875(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ll(b)) is amended by striking `the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals,' and inserting `national accreditation bodies under section 1865(a)'.

(5) Section 1834(a)(20)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(20)(B)) is amended by striking `section 1865(b)' and inserting `section 1865(a)'.

(6) Section 1852(e)(4)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-22(e)(4)(C)) is amended by striking `section 1865(b)(2)' and inserting `section 1865(a)(2)'.

(c) Authority to Recognize JCAHO as a National Accreditation Body- The Secretary of Health and Human Services may recognize the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as a national accreditation body under section 1865 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395bb), as amended by this section, upon such terms and conditions, and upon submission of such information, as the Secretary may require.

(d) Effective Date; Transition Rule-

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to accreditations of hospitals granted on or after the date that is 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2) For purposes of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the amendments made by this section shall not effect the accreditation of a hospital by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, or under accreditation or comparable approval standards found to be essentially equivalent to accreditation or approval standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, for the period of time applicable under such accreditation.