CMS announces Payroll-Based Journal system to be implemented

February’s announcement of adjustments to the Five Star Rating included the announcement that payroll-based staffing would be implemented in the next year or two for nursing homes, and CMS announced yesterday the release of its staffing submission data Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) system. Section 6106 of the ACA mandated that nursing facilities electronically submit direct care staffing information, including agency and contract staff, to CMS using payroll or other auditable data.

CMS will require that staffing and census data be collected on a quarterly basis, and that the submitted data is both timely and accurate. The data will be collected for each fiscal quarter. Staffing data includes the number of hours worked by each staff member each day within the quarter.  READ FULL ARTICLE

“CMS Announces Payroll-Based Journal System to Be Implemented.” CMS Compliance Group, 9 Apr. 2015, cmscompliancegroup.com/2015/04/09/09-payroll-based-journal

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that it has developed an electronic system whereby long-term care (LTC) facilities will submit staffing and census information as required under the Affordable Care Act. The system, which CMS is calling the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ), is being implemented via funding from the Impact Act of 2014.

By law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to collect from LTC facilities information about their direct-care employees, contractors and agency workers on a regular basis. READ FULL ARTICLE

Bowers, Lois. “CMS Develops Staffing, Census System.” I Advance Senior Care, 8 Apr. 2015, www.iadvanceseniorcare.com/cms-develops-staffing-census-system