Nursing Home News 2026Apr02

CMS Phases Out the Fax Machine

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule on March 24 widely dubbed as “phasing out the fax machine.” The Administrative Simplification; Adoption for Standards for Health Care Claims Attachments Transactions and Electronic Signatures rule seeks to improve health interoperability by setting standards for secure exchange of healthcare information claims-related processes. The rule eliminates manual processes such as faxing and mailing and requires implementation of requires implementation by May 26, 2028. Read the CMS Fact Sheet here. LeadingAge will provide further analysis of the rule in the coming days.

New SNF Reports Now Available in LeadingAge Report Portal

New Five Star Reports are now available for nursing home members in the LeadingAge Report Portal. These reports are based on the March 25 update to Nursing Home Care Compare data. Being a monthly update, only the Health Inspection domain data was updated. A small number of providers may notice a change in their Health Inspection domain ratings or overall Five Star ratings based on these updates but for most providers, no changes will be noted. The next quarterly refresh updating all three domains and the overall Five Star rating will take place in April.

CMS Expects Incorporation of New Food Guidelines

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Quality and Safety Special Alert memo (QSSAM) on March 30 reminding hospitals of their obligations related to patient food and nutrition services. Specifically, CMS expects incorporation of the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025 – 2030, released in January 2026 as part of the Administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. While this QSSAM was directed at hospitals, nursing homes should be aware of this directive. CMS has not issued a nursing home memo but recall that requirements at 42 CFR 483.60(c) call for menus to be developed according to “established national guidelines.” In the memo, CMS outlines eight “Key Elements” of the new guidelines to be considered in meeting requirements. This includes recommendations such as limiting ultra-processed food options, eliminating refined grains in favor of 100% whole grains, and ensuring meals contain less than 10 grams of added sugar. CMS includes examples of food and beverage options such as replacing processed deli meats with freshly prepared lean protein options and avoiding offering sugar-sweetened beverages or juice. LeadingAge will be watching for any nursing home-specific information but know that state and federal surveyors would not need a specific memo or directive to survey on these guidelines as “established national guidelines.”

Representatives Introduce Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Standards Bill

Representatives Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Jan Schakowski (D-IL) introduced the Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act on March 26 to establish minimum staffing standards in nursing homes. The House bill comes weeks behind a bill introduced in the Senate and contains significantly more provisions. In addition to a requirement for 24 hours per day, 7 days per week of registered nurse (RN) staffing, the bill would require nursing homes to provide 4.1 hours per resident, per day (HPRD) of total nurse staffing. This 4.1 HPRD would include at least 1.3 HPRD of “direct licensed nursing care” divided between 0.75 HPRD of RN staffing and 0.55 HPRD of licensed practical nurse (LPN) staffing, and 2.8 HPRD of certified nursing assistant (CNA) hours. These requirements are higher than both the Senate bill introduced in February 2026 and the regulatory requirements repealed in December 2025. The bill further establishes penalties for failure to meet staffing standards including increased surveys and exclusion from the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program and state directed payment programs, among other more traditional penalties like denials of payment. The bill includes provisions for a waiver and requirements for notifications of noncompliance similar to the parameters outlined in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) minimum staffing standards rule. If passed, the standards in this bill would be required to be implemented January 2029. LeadingAge does not support this bill. Workforce shortages and inadequate Medicaid reimbursement remain critical challenges for our members as they work tirelessly to provide quality care to nursing home residents. LeadingAge will be working with Hill staff to address these issues as we monitor the progress of this bill.

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