Nursing Home News 2026May22

Update to Complaint Investigation Guidance

On April 3, 2026, CMS made additional clarifications to Chapter 7 Survey and Enforcement Process for nursing facilities. This updated QSO-26-03-NH and will be updated in Chapters 5 and 5 of the State Operations Manual. 

Because changes were made to this same policy in January 2026, but the updates were not made to the policy, the red highlights from that revision were also included in the document, making it difficult to identify the April 3 changes. Here are the highlights of the most recent changes: 

• Clarified that abbreviated surveys must be completed on two consecutive calendar days beginning with the date of survey entrance
• Examples for enforcing per day and per instance civil money penalties (CMPs) and clarified that CMP amounts are hypothetical only, based on original amounts not adjusted for inflation. Actual CMP will be determined based on instructions in the CMS Analytic Tool
• Revisions will be applicable to all enforcement cycles starting on and/or after March 31, 2026. 
• Further announce that per instance CMPs will be displayed on Nursing Home Care Compare beginning June 24, 2026. 
  

Comments for SNF PPS Proposed Rule

As a reminder, comments on the FY2027 SNF PPS proposed rule are due on June 1st. Here are important documents related to providing comments. 

• LeadingAge deep dive into the FY 27 SNF PPS proposed rule
• LeadingAge tip sheet on submitting written comments on the FY 27 SNF PPS proposed rule
• LeadingAge serial post where we will share all updates as we move through the rulemaking process
  

Nursing Home Network, May 26

The Nursing Home Network will meet next Tuesday, May 26 at 2 p.m. ET. We will review nursing home policy updates from the past month and discuss various questions posed by network members. The Nursing Home Network is open to all LeadingAge members and you can register for these calls here.

Here is your NATIONAL Nursing Home Weekly Recap