The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s health care facilities are prepared to respond to the threat of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and other respiratory illnesses.
Specifically, CMS is suspending non-emergency inspections across the country, allowing inspectors to turn their focus on the most serious health and safety threats like infectious diseases and abuse. This shift in approach will also allow inspectors to focus on addressing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CMS is issuing this memorandum to State Survey Agencies to provide important guidelines for the inspection process in situations in which a COVID-19 is suspected.