Medicare: HCFA's Approval and Oversight of Private Accreditation Organizations

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) approval and oversight of private Medicare accreditation organizations, focusing on: (1) HCFA's criteria for approving accreditation organizations; (2) HCFA's ongoing oversight of accreditation organizations that have been granted deemed status; and (3) recent evaluations of accreditation organizations' performance.