The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a memorandum announcing plans to end the emergency blanket waiver that waived the requirement for nursing home staffing data submission. The emergency blanket waiver was intended to temporarily allow the agency to concentrate efforts on combating COVID-19 and reduce administrative burden on nursing homes allowing them to focus on resident health and safety during this public health emergency. The ending of the emergency blanket waiver resumes the requirement of all nursing homes to submit staffing data through the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) system by August 14, 2020. Nursing homes must submit data for calendar quarter 2 by the deadline. PBJ system allows CMS to collect nursing home staffing information which impacts the quality of care residents receive.
The memorandum also provides updates related to staffing and quality measures used on the Nursing Home Compare website and the Five Star Rating System that will take effect on July 29, 2020. Noted changes include:
- Staffing Measures and Ratings Domain will be held constant and will be based on data submitted for calendar Q4 2019.
- Quality Measures will be held constant and will based on the data collection period that ended December 31, 2019.
To view the memorandum, click here.
