OVERVIEW The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified state survey agency directors of renewed hospital survey limitations and notification expectations for states and hospitals during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the United States. Citing the risks associated with onsite survey activity during the recent COVID-19 surges in several states, CMS put these limitations in place for an initial period of 30 days and provided a mechanism for renewals to extend that time period. IN DEPTH CMS issued a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group and Survey & Operations Group memoranda addressed to state survey agency directors on January 20, 2021, effective immediately, outlining hospital survey limitations and notification expectations for states and hospitals when their hospitals implement crisis standards of care.