Proposed Rule Changes to Federally Qualified Health Centers (“FQHC”)

In furtherance of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) “Patients over Paperwork” initiative, CMS recently proposed rule changes that seek to reduce the administrative burden on FQHC staff.  The proposed changes apply to 42 CFR Part 491, Subpart A, §491.9(b)(4), §491.11(a), and §491.12.

§491.9(b)(4) requires FQHCs to review their patient care policies at least annually.  §491.11(a) requires FQHCs to conduct an annual evaluation of its total program.  §491.12 requires FQHCs to review their emergency preparedness program at least annually.

The proposed rules would change the aforementioned annual reviews to every other year.  CMS estimates that these changes will reduce the time that FQHC staff devote to the aforementioned reviews, and result in significant cost savings for FQHCs.

Click here to see the full text of the proposed rule.