Asheville -- August 6, 2026: Mission Hospital has returned to substantial compliance with federal Medicare and Medicaid requirements following an extensive review by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), ending a period of heightened federal oversight that had placed the hospital's participation in those programs at risk.
CMS determined that Mission Hospital successfully completed the corrective actions required under an Enhanced Plan of Correction after multiple inspections identified deficiencies involving patient care and hospital operations.
Federal inspectors had previously cited the hospital in several critical areas, including patient rights, nursing services, infection prevention and control, quality assessment and performance improvement, and governing body oversight. Those findings prompted CMS to require a comprehensive corrective action plan and conduct follow-up inspections to verify that the identified deficiencies had been addressed.
According to Mission Hospital, CMS has now determined the hospital is in substantial compliance with the federal Conditions of Participation, allowing it to continue participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
For thousands of patients across Western North Carolina, the decision removes the immediate concern that the region's largest hospital could lose access to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, a move that would have had significant consequences for patient care throughout the mountains.
The CMS determination does not end Mission Hospital's other regulatory and legal challenges.
Separate matters remain active, including North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson's lawsuit involving HCA Healthcare's obligations under the 2019 agreement that transferred Mission Health to HCA. That litigation centers on whether contractual commitments related to healthcare services have been maintained following the acquisition.
In addition, Dogwood Health Trust continues monitoring HCA's compliance with commitments established as part of the Mission Health sale. Those reviews are separate from the federal patient safety inspections conducted by CMS and focus on long-term obligations tied to the transaction.
The latest CMS decision confirms that Mission Hospital has corrected the deficiencies identified during the federal inspections and currently meets the standards necessary to continue serving Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
However, hospitals participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs remain subject to ongoing inspections, complaint investigations, and federal oversight to ensure continued compliance with patient safety and quality standards.
For residents throughout Western North Carolina, the announcement provides reassurance that Mission Hospital remains eligible to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients while separate legal proceedings and oversight related to HCA's ownership of the hospital continue.