Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is reigniting the movement to make accreditation reports public, following a report by The Wall Street Journal claiming The Joint Commission failed to revoke accreditation from underperforming, accredited hospitals, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here's what you should know:
1. Mr. Grassley wrote to federal regulators asking for input on statutory changes needed to make accreditation reports public.
2. In his letter, Mr. Grassley cited the WSJ investigation, saying The Joint Commission "appears to be unable to aggressively enforce the necessary standards on all facilities."
3. The Joint Commission didn't respond to requests for comment from The Wall Street Journal.
4. CMS withdrew a past proposal which would have required accrediting organizations to publicly disclose their accreditation surveys in August. CMS said the public sentiment on the bill was overwhelming negative. CMS made the proposal as a way to increase transparency.
5. The Joint Commission released a statement against the initial proposal in June.
6. Consumer advocacy groups have advocated in favor of such a policy for numerous years.