Philadelphia-based Wills Eye Hospital could regain recognition as a hospital under Medicare depending on CMS' review of how it decides which facilities meet its statutory definition of a hospital, according to philly.com.
Medicare hospital certification requires inpatient services, and is denoted for reimbursement and treatment purposes. Wills Eye dropped the designation in July 2006 when it sold its inpatient business to Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health and began functioning as an ambulatory surgery center.
Wills Eye has since sought to regain Medicare hospital certification following its completion of a $6.5 million renovation, which included a four-bed inpatient unit. However, CMS denied Wills Eye's request for hospital certification, stating it was still an ASC due to its low inpatient volume, according to the report.
CMS Administrator Seema Verma sent a letter to Wills Eye Tuesday, saying the agency "is in the process of reviewing our hospital surveyor guidance to better clarify when a facility meets the statutory definition of a hospital. The surveyor clarification would focus on a hospital's capability and capacity to provide inpatient care."
If Wills Eye reapplies for Medicare hospital designation, Ms. Verma said the provider "would be surveyed under these new expectations once implemented," according to the letter obtained by philly.com.