The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) is reminding long-term care facilities that as of July 1, 2016, electronic submission of staffing data through the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) is mandatory.
CMS says facilities have up to 45 days after the end of the quarter to submit data for Federal Fiscal Quarter 1 (Oct. 1, 2016-Dec. 31, 2016.) The final submission file for this quarter is due on Feb. 14, 2017. CMS encourages facilities to submit as soon as possible and not wait until just before the deadline.
The agency has added an indicator to the Nursing Home Compare website that shows whether a facility has complied with the PBJ reporting requirement. If the indicator is green, the facility has submitted data through PBJ; if the indicator is gray, the facility has not submitted any data through PBJ.
For questions related to software or technical requirements, please email NursingHomePBJTechIssues@cms.hhs.gov. For questions related to PBJ policies, please email NHstaffing@cms.hhs.gov
The PBJ website cane be accessed here.
