Nursing Home News 2026November5
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 October update to Nursing Home Care Compare, which was a quarterly refresh. As such, the overall Five Star Rating as well as each of the domain ratings – health inspections, staffing, and quality measures – have been updated. LeadingAge members can access their reports on the LeadingAge Report Portal. The next quarterly refresh of the Five-Star Quality Rating System will occur in January 2027.
Senate Democrats Question CMS Risk-Based Nursing Home Surveys.
On October 26, 2026, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz raising concerns about the agency’s Risk-Based Survey program. The program, which CMS began implementing nationally in September, allows qualifying nursing homes to receive shorter, more focused recertification surveys with smaller survey teams. The senators argue that abbreviated surveys could miss resident harm and question whether the process meets federal survey requirements. They cite Consumer Voice findings that some qualifying nursing homes had recent histories of abuse citations or payment denials. CMS says the approach directs limited survey resources toward nursing homes with greater risks; all nursing homes remain subject to surveys at least every 15 months. The senators requested answers by November 9 on the program’s legal basis, evidence supporting its eligibility criteria, and how CMS will monitor resident outcomes and respond to missed deficiencies. LeadingAge has long advocated for risk-based surveys as part of a national effort to modernize survey and certification. Our forthcoming response to the Senate Finance Committee's long-term care RFI will provide another opportunity to highlight the benefits of this program and the positive impact on our members. For more information on this, see our full article here.
OIG Issues Report on Nursing Home Minimum Spending Requirements.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on October 21 detailing results of an audit that explored implementation and challenges in four states that have enacted nursing home minimum spending requirements. The audit examined the experiences of both the state and providers within those states related to these requirements that could be helpful in informing future policy decisions related to minimum spending and future implementation of the pending requirement for states to report the percentage of Medicaid payments that are spent on direct care staff compensation in nursing homes. Recall that this requirement was finalized in the 2024 nursing home minimum staffing standards rule and while the staffing standards themselves were repealed, this portion of the rule was subject to neither the repeal nor the moratorium imposed by Congress through HR 1. Through this audit, OIG found that data collection, reporting, and review were common implementation issues among both the state agencies and the providers. OIG recommended that CMS utilize this information as it moves forward with implementation of the Medicaid payment transparency reporting requirements and any future rulemaking that may be considered related to minimum spending requirements.
Ready for the holidays?
As everyone starts reaching for the holiday decorations, we would like to remind you about the fire safety rules that surveyors will be looking for when they are in your community. Be sure to check tags, locations and decorations to ensure that you are meeting the requirements.
Holiday Decorations in Health Care Occupancies
Combustible decorations are prohibited in health care occupancies unless one of the following are met:
- Decorations are flame-retardant treated with a listed product (UL)
- The decorations meet the requirements of NFPA 701 (test for fire spread)
- Decorations meet NFPA 289 (fire test)
- Decorations are not required to be flame retardant (1-3 above) when decorations such as photographs, paintings and other art are attached directly to walls, ceilings and non-fire-rated doors and:
a. Decorations do not interfere with door operation and latching
b. Decorations do not exceed 30% of wall, ceiling and door that it is attached to. (30% of wall, 30% of ceiling, 30% of door)
c. Decorations do not exceed 50% inside of resident sleeping room wall, ceiling and door that it is attached to. (50% of wall, 50% of ceiling, 50% of door)
5. Decorations such as photographs, paintings are in limited quantities that are not considered a fire hazard.
The key is to use art that is attached directly to the wall, ceiling or door. It should be fairly flat and not consist of high surface area materials.
“Live” Christmas trees, wreaths, and other similar cuttings from live plants are not permitted.
Artificial Christmas trees, wreaths and other similar items are permitted when they are labeled as flame-retardant.
Decorations that hang from the ceiling or narrow the corridor are not permitted.
Holiday lights must be UL listed. Lighting and temporary wiring (extension cords) can only be used for 90 days. Documentation of start date of lighting must be provided. (NFPA 70, 590.3)










