Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Continued Approval of ACHC's Critical Access Hospital Accreditation Program
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted continued approval to the Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc. (ACHC) as a national accrediting organization for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) seeking to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. This approval allows CAHs accredited by ACHC to be deemed as meeting all applicable Medicare Conditions of Participation without needing state surveys. The recognition is effective from December 27, 2025, through December 27, 2031 (a full 6-year term). ACHC was required to update its standards to fully incorporate Life Safety Code and Health Care Facilities Code references, update survey processes to align with 2012 NFPA codes and 2013 FSES, and improve surveyor training on deficiency citation levels.
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Key Changes
- ACHC granted continued CMS approval as CAH accrediting organization for 6 years: December 27, 2025 to December 27, 2031
- Revised standards to include full references to applicable Life Safety Code (LSC) sections under §485.623(c)(1)(i)
- Revised standards to include full references to Health Care Facility Code (HCFC) sections under §485.623(d)
+ 3 more changes with Pro
Obligations
What this law requires
ACHC must maintain accreditation standards that fully incorporate Life Safety Code and Health Care Facilities Code references
ACHC must update survey processes to align with 2012 NFPA codes and 2013 FSES standards
ACHC must provide surveyor training on deficiency citation levels
ACHC must reapply for continued approval of its accreditation program every 6 years or sooner as determined by CMS
ACHC must provide CMS with a copy of the most current accreditation survey and any other information related to the survey as CMS may require, including corrective action plans