LTC Skilled Nursing News 2025Nov20
Survey Follow-Up
NEW on the Learning Hub: Making Sense of the New Medicare Cost Report
Check out a new offering on the LeadingAge Learning Hub: Making Sense of the New Medicare Cost Report. This 13-minute QuickCast presented by LeadingAge partner Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker LLC provides an overview of the latest updates to the CMS 2540-24 form and new reporting requirements. The QuickCast is on-demand and free for LeadingAge members. Find it here.
OIG Looking at Nursing Home Quality After Changes in Ownership
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) updated its current workplan on November 17 to include a new nursing home item. OIG will be investigating how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state survey agencies identify and respond to declines in nursing home quality following changes in ownership. The report is expected in fiscal year 2027 and is the latest in more than a dozen work plan tasks focused on nursing homes. Review OIG's current work plan here.
Nursing Home Weekly Recap. Here is your Nursing Home Weekly Recap
Now that the government shutdown has ended, DHHS survey department has resumed their ability to complete nursing home surveys. According to DHHS, they are currently scheduling new surveys and are focused on completing required revisits. They have also cleared up the concern raised regarding surveys that were in process prior to the shutdown that had not received their 2567. If you had a survey in process and had not received your 2567, you will soon be receiving it. They have determined that they will be changing the exit date to reflect the date that the notice is being sent so that providers will have the full opportunity to complete their plan of correction without running into an issue with delinquency. We are very thankful for this insightful response.
DHHS survey department has also informed us that they have a goal to cut down the total survey time to 40 hours. The current survey time is at an average of 60 hours. This means that the goal will be for the onsite portion of the review to be at 3 days instead of 4 days. This will be dependent on the location, size of the facility and deficiencies found.
