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Choosing Care - Home Health Survey
Home health agencies certified for Medicare and/or Medicaid must meet certain regulations, which are the same for every agency across the U.S. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is the federal government's designee for licensing and certification oversight. HCFA contracts with state governments to perform inspections and licensing of home health. Typically, the state agency that is charged with this responsibility is the health department or
department of human services. A licensing inspection, most widely known as a survey, usually lasts three to five days and is conducted by a team of inspectors, including at least one registered nurse. The following facts briefly describe home health surveys:
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Surveys occur once every 36 months.
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Surveys are unannounced.
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Surveys are a snapshot in time and may or may not represent the daily operations of the agency.
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There are over 150 possible regulations that translate into a deficiency if the regulation is not met.
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Each deficiency is ranked as a condition or standard.
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Citations that are a condition may give cause for decertification from Medicare (i.e., loss of Medicare reimbursement).
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A home health survey is public information and you may ask to see it.
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Investigation of complaint allegations may trigger a survey.
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