Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
December 04, 2017 11:00 PM

CMS halts enforcement of some Obama-era nursing home standards

Virgil Dickson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    The CMS is pumping the brakes on enforcing an Obama-era regulation that sought to improve quality of care and safety at nursing homes.

    Industry stakeholders welcome the move and said they need more time to implement the rule's policies, but patient advocates blasted the announcement and because they felt the decision put patient well-being in the crosshairs.

    In an under-the-radar notice posted late last month, the CMS announced an 18-month moratorium on enforcement activities on several key parts of a nursing home regulation that was finalized last year. Without the delay, the nursing home industry would have had to comply with the new standards by Nov. 28. The 713-page rule was the first major update to requirements for long-term care providers since 1991.

    Nursing homes now will not face civil money penalties, payment denials or termination from Medicare if they don't comply with certain requirements like ensuring they have adequate staff on-site, including staff qualified to provide behavioral health services. The facilities are also getting a pass on requirements that ensure appropriate prescribing of psychotropic medications.

    The CMS said it will use this 18-month moratorium period to educate surveyors and providers to ensure they understand the health and safety expectations that must be met. To achieve that, the CMS still plans to hand out formal citations for deficiencies from the delayed policies, but facilities won't be subject to actual punitive action.

    Long-term care facilities appreciated the move by the CMS. The agency only gave the facilities guidance on the policies in June, which wasn't enough time to prepare for the Nov. 28 compliance date, according to Janine Finck-Boyle, director of health regulations and policy at LeadingAge, a trade group that represents not-for-profit nursing homes and other elder-care providers.

    "Time was running out," Finck-Boyle said. "Some facilities would not have been ready in terms of compliance."

    The CMS' action was actually a compromise, as the industry wanted the rule frozen completely while it was rewritten to remove administrative burdens.

    The rule introduced various new documentation procedures for everything from how to handle grievances to lost dentures. These standards won't actually lead to better care, according to Dr. David Gifford, senior vice president for quality and regulatory affairs at the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.

    "We appreciate what they've done, but we wanted them to go further," Gifford said.

    Patient advocates were nevertheless dismayed by the CMS' actions even though the industry didn't get everything it wanted. The Center for Medicare Advocacy said the November notice was just the latest in a line of policy actions that seek to undermine efforts by prior administrations to make nursing homes safer and to provide a higher quality of care.

    For instance, the CMS issued a notice in July that replaced earlier guidance by the Obama administration on civil monetary penalties for nursing homes.

    The guidance urged agency surveyors of nursing homes to charge them per instance of wrongdoing versus a per day standard, where providers would be charged for every day the deficiency remains. That will reduce the overall number of financial penalties imposed on nursing homes, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

    "These changes, which are openly urged by the two-national nursing home trade associations, directly threaten the health, safety and well-being of nursing home residents," said Toby Edelman, a senior policy attorney at the advocacy organization. "CMS' announcement of an 18-month moratorium is just the latest assault on the enforcement system. This is a very dangerous time for residents."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Patrick Blair InnovAge
    PACE could expand amid possible nursing home closures: InnovAge CEO
    Rob Allen Intermountain 23
    Intermountain's Graphite Health may be AI 'grounding point,' CEO says
    Most Popular
    1
    CMS tries luring providers to revamped Medicare ACOs
    2
    Oregon joins other states in setting ratios for nurse staffing
    3
    Blue Shield CA taps Amazon, Mark Cuban, CVS for new PBM model
    4
    A health innovation hub grows in Lake Nona Medical City
    5
    Hospital-at-home providers push for Medicaid coverage
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing