ASCP Urges CMS to Restore Autopsy Rule

Publication Date: Oct 9, 2019

On October 8, ASCP urged Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restore its Medicare Hospital Conditions of Participation autopsy rule. The rule states that “a hospital’s medical staff should attempt to secure autopsies in all cases of unusual deaths and of medical-legal and educational interest.” CMS abandoned the autopsy requirement on September 30 as part of its Omnibus Burden Reduction (Conditions of Participation) Final Rule.

CMS maintains that the autopsy policy is redundant because the states have developed policies on autopsy performance. In opposing the elimination of the autopsy policy, ASCP responded that CMS’s rationale was flawed and that “state laws requiring the performance of an autopsy are woefully insufficient and inconsistent and are not adequate to protect patient health.” ASCP’s letter to CMS noted that only six states have policies encouraging or requiring autopsies in cases of “unusual deaths” (only two of the six states require autopsies in such cases).

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