In its latest move to increase scrutiny of the skilled nursing industry, the Biden administration is toughening requirements for nursing homes that fall into its Special Focus Facilities (SFF) program.

Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is making completion requirements more challenging and increasing enforcement actions if SNFs fail to show improvement, according to a statement issued by the federal agency on Friday.

the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued updates to guidance on minimum health and safety standards that Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities (often called “nursing homes”) must meet to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.

CMS also updated and developed new guidance in the State Operations Manual (SOM) to address issues that significantly affect residents of LTC facilities.

n a blog post on the Trump administration’s strategies for ensuring safety and quality in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), focused on enhanced enforcement efforts to strengthen oversight of facilities.

On the issue of staffing, CMS is monitoring adherence to federal statute on the number of registered nurses that SNFs employ to help care for patients and residents.