CMS Prepares To Inspect King/Drew
CMS will hold an unannounced inspection of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center within 90 days to determine whether problems at the hospital have been corrected, federal regulators said, the Los Angeles Times reports. If deficiencies at the hospital are found, King/Drew could lose federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.
The Department of Health Services had expected the CMS inspection of King/Drew in January. Without that review, it "remained unclear" whether problems cited in previous inspections had been corrected, the Times reports.
If King/Drew fails the CMS inspection, the county can cede control of the hospital to an outside operator or sell it, and regulators would consider whether to continue federal funding.
County Health Director Bruce Chernof said the hospital is prepared for the inspection.
HHS Secretary Kim Belshé in a May 26 letter to CMS said improvements to King/Drew were delayed because the federal government had not released the details of a previous inspection. The inspection report was released to the hospital days after the letter was sent.
CMS officials deny accusations that the process was delayed (Weber/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 6/2).