Feds ramp up nursing home sanctions for poor care performance

The federal government is planning to add new penalties against nursing homes that fail to improve a record of providing poor care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will more aggressively enforce accountability in its Special Focus Facilities (SFF) program, the Biden administration announced in a fact sheet released Friday, Oct. 21. 

SFFs are nursing facilities that chronically underperform, with those in the program accounting for 0.5%, or 88 of the nation’s facilities. They receive twice the inspections of other facilities, at least once every six months. They must pass two consecutive inspections to successfully complete the program. Under the new changes, they will be monitored longer-term and penalized for backsliding.

Industry advocates pushed back at the plan for escalated enforcement. Increased citations and penalties have historically not made a dent in changing poor performers, the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living said.

LeadingAge, meanwhile, reiterated its support of federal initiatives to improve care at poorly performing nursing homes, supporting closures of those that do not improve. It also called for an “all-of-government approach to finding solutions that will address the chronic staffing challenge.”