CMS Publishes Revised Guidance on The Emergency Preparedness Exercise Exemption

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published revised QSO-20-41-ALL.

The revised memo announces that if a facility is still currently operating under its activated emergency plan or reactivated its emergency plan for COVID-19 in 2021 or 2022, they are exempt from the next required full-scale community-based or individual facility-based functional exercise.

Facilities must show, through written documentation, that they activated their program due to the emergency.

Facilities that resumed normal operating status (not under their activated emergency plans) are required to conduct their testing exercises based on the regulatory requirements for their specific provider or supplier type.

This guidance applies for any subsequent 12-month cycles in the future if facilities continue to operate under their activated emergency plans for COVID-19 response activities.

Read the memo details.