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Oppose the Rollback of Emergency Preparedness Rules: Submit Comments to CMS by November 19!

October 19, 2018

On September 20, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule impacting a wide range of Medicare providers that includes revisions to the new emergency preparedness regulations. The proposed rule is part of the agency’s efforts to “relieve burden on healthcare providers by removing unnecessary, obsolete or excessively burdensome Medicare compliance requirements for healthcare facilities.” The emergency preparedness requirements are targeted for rollback even though they were implemented less than a year ago.

The proposed rule changes a number of key provisions in the current rule.  Under the proposed rule, facilities would only be required to review and update their emergency plan, policies and procedures, communication plan, and training and testing program every two years rather than annually.  Also, staff training on emergency preparedness would no longer be required annually, but instead only every other year.  To read more about the proposed changes, click here.

Both Consumer Voice and Justice in Aging are extremely concerned that the proposed revisions would make nursing homes less ready when disaster strikes and subject residents to greater danger, even death.

CMS needs to hear from all of us that this proposed regulation is not acceptable!  Follow the 3 easy steps below to submit comments opposing this proposed rule by 11:59 PM ET on November 19, 2018.

• You can choose from two sample comment templates developed by Consumer Voice and Justice in Aging:

  • Click here to download shorter comments. 
  • Click here to download more in-depth comments addressing specific provisions in the rule.

• Personalize your comments with your name, your organization's name (if applicable), and your own experiences, observations, or concerns about the impact of these proposed changes.

• Go to https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=CMS-2018-0106-0001 to submit your comments.  For step-by-step instructions that navigates you through the comment portal, click here.

Additional Information

• Read the proposed rule here.
• To learn more about the proposed rule, click here.
• To learn more about emergency preparedness, click here.

Questions?  Contact us at info@theconsumervoice.org.