Dive Brief:
- CMS officials have announced their intention to end all Medicare and Medicaid funding to Houston-based St. Joseph Medical Center on December 3.
- The decision follows a federal inquiry into the shooting of a combative patient in the hospital's mental health unit by an off-duty Houston police officer who was working as a hospital security officer.
- The hospital supported the officer's use of lethal force and reportedly failed to comply with CMS' demands to meet Medicare's "basic health and safety regulations.”
Dive Insight:
To be cut off from Medicare and Medicaid funding could prove devastating to the hospital, but an appeal appears likely.
St. Joseph can contest the decsion until January 13, according to the Houston Press, and the appeal would be heard by an administrative law judge on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' appeals board.
St. Joseph released a statement from CEO Mark Bernard to hospital staff indicating it is working with CMS to resolve the issue.
"We are meeting with CMS officials to discuss the situation and we are hopeful of finding a solution where our hospital remains in these governmental programs and able to continue to provide care to our Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries," Bernard stated. "We are working with CMS and the Texas Department of State Health Services to demonstrate our commitment to quality and safety and to excellent patient care."