Memorial Mission Hospital Warned of Imminent Loss of Medicare Funding for Noncompliance
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has warned Memorial Mission Hospital in North Carolina that it is at risk of losing Medicare funding as it is not compliant with the Conditions of Participation in Medicare. The CMS wrote to Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Center CEO, Chad Patrick, explaining that in order to receive Medicare funding, hospitals must be in compliance with the regulatory Conditions of Participation as detailed in 42 C.F.R. Part 482. Section 1864.
The North Carolina State Survey Agency concluded a complaint survey on December 9, 2023, at Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Center and identified non-compliance with six Conditions of Participation:
- 42 C.F.R. § 482.12 Governing Body
- 42 C.F.R. § 482.13 Patient’s Rights
- 42 C.F.R. § 482.21 Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement Program
- 42 C.F.R. § 482.23 Nursing Services
- 42 C.F.R. § 482.27 Laboratory Services
- 42 C.F.R. § 482.55 Emergency Services
Non-compliance has put Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Center at risk of termination of its provider agreement. Memorial Mission Hospital has been given 23 days from the date of the notice to address all six of the immediate jeopardy conditions or the hospital’s provider agreement will be terminated on February 24, 2024. Termination of the provider agreement would be catastrophic for the hospital and the patients it serves and could result in the hospital shutting down. To avoid termination of the provider agreement, a Plan of Correction (PoC) must be submitted to the CMS no later than February 6, 2024.
The PoC must address the processes that led to the deficiencies, the procedure for implementing the acceptable PoC for the cited deficiencies, the monitoring and tracking period to ensure that the PoC is effective, the cited deficiencies remain corrected, and the hospital will maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, the title of the person responsible for implementing the PoC, and a completion date for correction of all six of the deficiencies.
“There are no excuses for our patients receiving anything other than exceptional care, and Mission Health has already taken action based on the preliminary findings shared last month. We are pleased to hear from our EMS partners and patients that those actions are yielding positive results, including decreased wait times for care,” said Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell. “We respect the process of these surveys and will submit our corrective action plan to CMS by their deadline. Again, these findings are not the standard of care we expect, nor that our patients deserve, and we are working diligently to improve.”
