CMS announces end of emergency blanket data waiver for nursing homes

Federal officials said Friday that they are ending an emergency blanket waiver intended to reduce administrative burden on nursing homes amid the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) said that effective August 14, nursing homes nationwide will again be required to submit staffing data through the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) system, which allows the agency to collect “staffing information which impacts the quality of care residents receive,” CMS said in a press release.

The first initial submission to PBJ must cover the second quarter of the current calendar year.