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CHA has submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), responding to its request for information on the relationship between Medicare-approved accrediting organizations (AOs), their consultative entities and the health care facilities they accredit.
Due to the complexity of the Medicare conditions of participation and conditions for coverage or certification, hospitals often use consultative subsidiaries of AOs for educational and technical assistance to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements. CHA urges CMS not to restrict the consultative activities these subsidiaries can offer, but to take steps to improve the transparency of these relationships and implement a process for initiating conflict of interest complaints.
