Extraordinary Circumstances Extension / Exception (ECE) due to Hurricane Florence

The purpose of this communication is to notify Post-acute Care settings of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) intent to grant quality reporting data submission and validation exceptions to Medicare providers in several care settings adversely affected by the devastating impact of Hurricane Florence, including Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Hospices, Home Health Agencies, and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). For the specified reporting quarter(s), as indicated in this communication, affected providers will not be required to submit quality measure data to meet submission requirements. CMS is exercising its authority to grant exceptions for data submission requirements for the several quality reporting programs for providers located within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-designated “major disaster” counties of North Carolina, and South Carolina listed below:  NORTH CAROLINA ·         Beaufort County ·         Bladen County ·         Brunswick County ·         Carteret ·         Columbus ·         Craven County ·         Cumberland County ·         Duplin County ·         Harnett County ·         Jones County ·         Lenoir County ·         New Hanover County ·         Onslow County ·         Pamlico County ·         Pender County ·         Robeson County ·         Sampson County ·         Wayne County  SOUTH CAROLINA  ·         Berkeley County ·         Charleston County ·         Dorchester County ·         Georgetown County ·         Horry County ·         Marion County ·         Orangeburg County ·         Williamsburg County  CMS recommends visiting the FEMA website @ https://www.fema.gov  for the most up to date list of counties affected by Hurricane Florence.