PBJ News Topic

PBJ Research & Analysis

High staff turnover linked to decreased quality of care in SNFs

October 9, 2023

Our Take: Two October 2023 JAMA studies show that increases in nursing staff turnover is connected to higher citation counts and lower CMS quality measure scores. The second study associated labor union presence…

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OIG: Nursing homes reported widespread barriers to emergency preparedness

September 1, 2023

Our Take: A September 2023 HHS Office of Inspector General report found that 77% of nursing homes in high-risk natural disaster areas faced challenges with emergency preparedness activities. Staffing shortages were identified as…

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Study recommends adding measures of staffing instability to Care Compare

August 15, 2023

Our Take: A peer-reviewed study of 11,840 nursing homes found that staffing instability and staffing turnover are weakly correlated and independently associated with nursing home quality. Researchers recommend CMS add staffing instability as…

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Research shows impact of PPP loans on staffing in US nursing homes

July 27, 2023

Our Take: A JAMA Network study found that nursing homes receiving Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans – which required 60–75% of funds be directed to staffing- experienced significant increases in CNA and LPN…

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Study suggests staffing shortages during the pandemic strained nursing homes

July 27, 2023

Our Take: A study in JAMA Network Open used PBJ data from eight U.S. markets to document how COVID-19-era staffing shortages drove administrators to adopt agency staffing, overtime, and admission reductions to maintain…

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Research finds nurse staffing shortages linked to 10 percent jump in resident deaths

May 10, 2023

Our Take: A peer-reviewed study found that staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic were directly associated with reduced nurse staffing hours and a statistically significant 10.5% increase in weekly resident deaths. The findings…

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Study shows that higher spending on nursing home staff is not tied to better staffing levels

February 6, 2023

Our Take: A Health Affairs study found that nursing homes with higher Medicaid resident shares spent more of their revenue on nursing staff, yet still had lower staffing levels. The findings demonstrated that…

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Study shows that REIT ownership linked to decline in RN staffing, increases in LPN, CNA use

January 25, 2023

Our Take: A 2023 study in Health Affairs found that REIT investment in nursing homes is associated with a statistically significant decline in registered nurse hours per resident day and increases in LPN…

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OIG: More than a thousand nursing homes reached infection rates of 75 percent or more in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

January 19, 2023

Our Take: A January 2023 HHS Office of Inspector General report found that more than 1,300 nursing homes reached COVID-19 infection rates of 75% or higher during 2020 surge periods. OIG recommends CMS…

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Research finds staffing stability is marker of better quality of nursing homes

January 10, 2023

Our Take: A JAMA study found that day-to-day staffing instability for LPNs and CNAs – measured using PBJ data – is independently associated with worse performance across the majority of standard CMS quality…

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PBJ News Topics

Read about PBJ regulations, research & news impacting SNFs

Most Recent PBJ News

NJ SNF sues CMS over PBJ audits, citing no appeal rights

April 22, 2026

Latest PBJ News

Our Take: A New Jersey skilled nursing facility filed a federal lawsuit on April 21, 2026, alleging that…

SNF pay rate proposals bring heightened CMS enforcement

April 10, 2026

PBJ Policy & Enforcement

Our Take: CMS has proposed a 2.4% Medicare rate increase for SNFs in FY 2027 while simultaneously expanding…

Minnesota SNF wage floor implementation delayed as CMS review restarts and provider associations file federal lawsuit

April 9, 2026

Latest PBJ News

Our Take: Minnesota’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board was created in 2023 to set binding wage floors and…

New York minimum staffing mandate journeys through workforce shortages, enforcement, and legal challenges

April 8, 2026

Latest PBJ News

Our Take: New York’s 3.5-hour minimum staffing requirement has progressed from contested legislation to active penalty assessment. State…

Democratic bills revive minimum staffing debate

March 30, 2026

Minimum Staffing Roundup

Our Take: CMS repealed the nursing home minimum staffing rule in early 2026 following court defeats. Key provisions…

CMS nursing home funding campaign grows to $200 million

March 16, 2026

Minimum Staffing Roundup

Our Take: CMS has expanded its nursing home staffing campaign from $75 million to $200 million. Proposed with…

PBJ technical specifications changed

March 16, 2026

PBJ Policy & Enforcement

Our Take: CMS made minor updates to the PBJ data specification for uploaded PBJ files. Users can no…

The effects of labor unions on nurse staffing ratios

March 2, 2026

PBJ Research & Analysis

Our Take: A Health Affairs study of 321 newly unionized nursing homes from 2013 to 2021 found that…

Did state staffing mandates add direct care staff or hurt SNF finances?

March 2, 2026

PBJ Research & Analysis

Our Take: A study of 6,849 nursing homes in 22 states found that state minimum staffing mandates raised…

Medical Director compliance under increasing federal and state scrutiny

February 23, 2026

Latest PBJ News

Our Take: Federal regulators and state lawmakers are intensifying scrutiny of SNF medical directors. OIG is actively reviewing…

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