Nursing Home News 2026Feb06

CMS Releases Improper Payment Data Pointing to SNF and Hospice Errors

On January 24, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a yearly report on Medicare Fee-for-Service Supplemental Improper Payment Data. The data found that both skilled nursing facilities and hospice providers were flagged as improper payment drivers. SNF had an overall improper payment of 15% with about $4.5 billion in improper payments, typically due to insufficient documentation. For hospices, roughly 6% of payments were improper totaling about $2 billion in improper payments with unsupported medical necessity driving the root cause analysis. Home health agencies totaled slightly less improper billing coming in with $1.1 billions in improper payments mostly due to insufficient documentation. Unsurprisingly, for home health and hospice improper payments, California had the highest improper payment rate at 12%. With the administration's heightened scrutiny on fraud, waste, and abuse providers should ensure they are following doubling down on documentation expectations. 

LeadingAge Submits Comments on Staffing Standard Repeal

LeadingAge submitted comments on January 31 on the interim final rule Repeal of Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities. The interim final rule was released in December and is the final chapter in the Minimum Staffing Standards initially proposed in 2023. The rule was finalized in 2024, struck down by federal courts in spring and summer 2025, and placed on a moratorium in the Fiscal Year 2025 federal budget. LeadingAge supported the repeal of this rule and provided suggestions for actions the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could take to improve staffing by investing in the long-term care workforce. Suggestions addressed nurse aide training programs, CMS’s Nursing Home Staffing Campaign, and Medicaid reimbursement rates. Read more here.

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