In S&C Letter QSO-22-15-NH & NLTC & LSC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the termination date of specific Public Health Emergency (PHE) waivers for skilled nursing facilities/nursing facilities, inpatient hospices, intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and end-stage renal disease facilities. Waiver terminations are categorized into two groups based on the date of publication of the memorandum, with the first group being 30 days and the second group 60 days from the date of issuance.
Within the second group, several physical environment waivers are being terminated such as inspection, testing and maintenance of equipment and systems based on NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code ® and NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code. For the specific waiver terminations and which facility types the terminations apply to, please see the linked S&C letter above.
The termination of these blanket waivers will have no effect on other blanket waivers that remain in place, such as those for hospitals and critical access hospitals; and CMS has yet to issue information regarding these waivers.
