CMS Proposed Rule – Visitation Rights

On April 15, 2010, President Obama issued a presidential memorandum to Health and Human Services (HHS) calling for the initiation of rulemaking that would ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patients. The President’s directive instructed HHS to propose that a participating hospital not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. CMS has issued a proposed rule, titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Changes to the Hospital and Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation to Ensure Visitation Rights for All Patients,” which is currently on display in the Federal Register and was published Monday, June 28, 2010. To view the proposed rule, click here. The comment period closes August 27, 2010.