Articles and Blogs

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a recent Memo reminding hospitals and other Medicare certified health care entities of their regulatory obligation to maintain a safe setting for patients, residents and staff. CMS’s action comes at a time when violence in health care settings is on the rise. Although the Memo... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) intends to increase its oversight and scrutiny of skilled nursing facilities in its Special Focus Facility (“SFF”) program. CMS is revising the SFF program to protect and improve the quality of care that residents living in these skilled nursing facilities receive. This action is being taken... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has retooled guidance it armed surveyors with regarding how to survey skilled nursing facilities for compliance with the CMS staff vaccine requirements. The revisions address condition-level and actual harm determinations to ensure that deficiency citations recognize good faith efforts by providers. On October 26, 2022, CMS... READ MORE

As questions, concerns and frustration continue for skilled nursing facilities and families on visitation at facilities, CMS released additional recommendations, clarifications and guidance on a host of issues that skilled nursing providers face as they encounter certain visitation scenarios. On February 2, 2022, CMS updated and added several questions and answers in its December... READ MORE

Amidst a nationwide nursing and skilled nursing facility staffing crisis, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced that additional information regarding nursing home staff numbers will be added to the January 2022 CMS Care Compare website. The staffing data will impact the Five-Star Quality Rating calculations in the middle of 2022. Skilled... READ MORE

Facing further confusion from skilled nursing facilities and families amidst the current spike in COVID cases in the United States, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released additional best practices and addressed more issues that skilled nursing providers should follow as they encounter certain visitation scenarios. On January 6, 2022, CMS updated... READ MORE

Note: This article has been revised to include information on the Group 2 states and Texas as of January 25, 2022. Nursing homes face possible citations, civil monetary penalties, denial of payments and—as a final measure—termination of participation from the Medicare and Medicaid programs by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) as... READ MORE

On December 28, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued Guidance for the Interim Final Rule – Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination (the “Guidance”). The Guidance provides direction to surveyors on assessing compliance with CMS’s November 5, 2021 Interim Final Rule (the “IFR”), which established COVID-19... READ MORE

Recently, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum entitled “Revised COVID-19 Survey Activities, CARES Act Funding, Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control deficiencies, and Quality Improvement Activities in Nursing Homes” (the “Memorandum”) that details new triggers and criteria for focused infection control surveys for... READ MORE

On August 17, 2020, the Quality, Safety & Oversight Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum entitled “Enforcement Cases Held during the Prioritization Period and Revised Survey Prioritization” (“QSO Memo”) that announced the further expansion of survey activity and guidance around enforcement activity. The QSO Memo follows previous... READ MORE