AHA opposes certain proposed changes to Medicare enrollment form     

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should require physician-owned hospitals to report their POH status on the Medicare enrollment application for institutional providers, AHA told the agency today. CMS has proposed removing a question on POH status from the application form (CMS-855A).
 
“This information is necessary to track these organizations and capture statutorily required data elements,” AHA wrote, responding to the agency’s proposal to eliminate the requirement. “Additionally, we urge the agency to issue additional forms and/or questions regarding POHs to comply with the reporting requirements mandated in the Affordable Care Act.” 
 
Commenting on proposed additions to the application, AHA urged CMS not to finalize proposed “burdensome and redundant” questions on provider-based practice locations, and proposed questions on beneficiary medical records storage that raise cybersecurity concerns. AHA also urged CMS to postpone adopting a proposed new question for all ownership roles, expressing concern it was “a precursor to additional administratively burdensome disclosures.”