CFR

423.165—Compliance deemed on the basis of accreditation.

(a) General rule. A Part D sponsor is deemed to meet all of the requirements of any of the areas described in paragraph (b) of this section if—

(1) The Part D sponsor is fully accredited (and periodically reaccredited) for the standards related to the applicable area under paragraph (b) of this section by a private, national accreditation organization approved by CMS; and

(2) The accreditation organization uses the standards approved by CMS for the purposes of assessing the Part D sponsor's compliance with Medicare requirements.

(b) Deemable requirements. The requirements relating to the following areas are deemable:

(1) Access to covered drugs, as provided under §§ 423.120 and 423.124.

(2) Drug utilization management programs, quality assurance measures and systems, and MTMPs as provided under § 423.153.

(3) Privacy, confidentiality, and accuracy of enrollee records, as provided under § 423.136.

(c) Effective date of deemed status. The date the Part D sponsor is deemed to meet the applicable requirements is the later of the following:

(1) The date the accreditation organization is approved by CMS.

(2) The date the Part D sponsor is accredited by the accreditation organization.

(d) Obligations of deemed Part D sponsors. A Part D sponsor deemed to meet Medicare requirements must—

(1) Submit to surveys by CMS to validate its accreditation organization's accreditation process; and

(2) Authorize its accreditation organization to release to CMS a copy of its most recent accreditation survey, together with any survey-related information that CMS may require (including corrective action plans and summaries of unmet CMS requirements).

(e) Removal of deemed status. CMS removes part or all of a Part D sponsor's deemed status for any of the following reasons—

(1) CMS determines, on the basis of its own investigation, that the Part D sponsor does not meet the Medicare requirements for which deemed status was granted.

(2) CMS withdraws its approval of the accreditation organization that accredited the Part D sponsor.

(3) The Part D sponsor fails to meet the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section.

(f) Authority. Nothing in this section limits CMS' authority under subparts K and O of this part, including, but not limited to the ability to impose intermediate sanctions, civil money penalties, and terminate a contract with a Part D plan sponsor.

[70 FR 4525, Jan. 28, 2005, as amended at 75 FR 19818, Apr. 15, 2010]

Tips