110 STAT. 1321-247 PUBLIC LAW 104-134—APR. 26, 1996 those conditions or requirements with respect to which the Secretary made such finding; or "(B) in the case of a provider entity described in paragraph (3)(B), the Secretary may treat such entity as meeting those conditions or requirements with respect to which the Secretary made such finding. "(2) In making such a finding, the Secretary shall consider, among other factors with respect to a national accreditation body, its requirements for accreditation, its survey procedures, its ability to provide adequate resources for conducting required surveys and supplying information for use in enforcement activities, its monitoring procedures for provider entities found out of compliance with the conditions or requirements, and its ability to provide the Secretary with necessary data for validation. Publications. "(3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a written request for a finding under paragraph (1) (with any documentation necessary to make a determination on the request), the Secretary shall publish a notice identifying the national accreditation body making the request, describing the nature of the request, and providing a period of at least 30 days for the public to comment on the request. The Secretary shall approve or deny a request for such a finding, and shall publish notice of such approval or denial, not later than Effective date. 210 days after the date of receipt of the request (with such documentation). Such an approval shall be effective with respect to accreditation determinations made on or after such effective date (which may not be later than the date of publication of the approval) as the Secretary specifies in the publication notice. "(B) The 210-day and 60-day deadlines specified in subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of any request for a finding with respect to accreditation of a provider entity to which the conditions and requirements of section 1819 and 18610) apply. "(4) For purposes of this section, the term 'provider entity' means a provider of services, supplier, facility, clinic, agency, or laboratory. ". (c) AUTHORITY FOR VALIDATION SURVEYS.— (1) IN GENERAL.— The first sentence of section 1864(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395aa(c)) is amended by striking "hospitals" and all that follows and inserting "provider entities that, pursuant to subsection (a) or (b)(1) of section 1865, are treated as meeting the conditions or requirements of this title.". (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— Section 1865 of such Act, as amended by subsection (b), is further amended— (A) in subsection (d), as redesignated by subsection (b)(1)— (i) by striking "a hospital" and inserting "a provider entity", (ii) by striking "the hospital" each place it appears and inserting "the entity", and (iii) by striking "the requirements of the numbered paragraphs of section 1861(e)" and inserting "the conditions or requirements the entity has been treated as meeting pursuant to subsection (a) or (b)(1)"; and (B) by adding at the end the following new subsection: "(e) For provisions relating to validation surveys of entities that are treated as meeting applicable conditions or requirements of this title pursuant to subsection (a) or (b)(1), see section 1864(c).".
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