Skilled Nursing News Archives | Page 7 Of 9

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White House order aims to tie nursing home Medicare payments to worker retention

April 18, 2023

Our Take: President Biden signed an executive order directing HHS to build on minimum staffing standards and condition a portion of Medicare payments on how well nursing homes retain workers. Industry associations expressed…

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Proposed rule digest: Feds’ value-based changes present ‘long overdue’ opening for SNFs

April 6, 2023

Our Take: CMS finalized the FY 2024 SNF Prospective Payment System rule, delivering a 4.0% payment increase of approximately $1.4 billion while overhauling the Value-Based Purchasing program. VBP sees new measures tied to…

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News Roundup: Plaintiffs’ lawyers gaining edge against nursing homes with staffing issues, plus SNF VBP & PHE waiver wind down

March 29, 2023

Our Take: Rising plaintiff litigation using publicly available staffing data creates compliance and legal exposure for SNFs. A new Total Nurse Staffing measure tied to PBJ data will begin affecting SNF VBP payments…

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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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State CNA waiver decisions, Federal TNA workforce legislation, and OIG’s escalating focus on nursing home compliance

January 25, 2023

Our Take: Federal and state actions reflect ongoing efforts to address staffing shortages in skilled nursing facilities. Meanwhile OIG has elevated nursing home oversight to the top of its enforcement agenda, specifically citing…

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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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CMS nursing home ratings and staffing enforcement face national media scrutiny; Industry groups respond

November 23, 2022

Our Take: Investigations by USA Today and U.S. News & World Report in late 2022 revealed significant gaps between CMS star ratings and actual staffing levels at nursing homes. Reporters claimed federal enforcement…

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MedPAC’s recommendations: state staffing policies could hamper federal mandate

September 30, 2022

Our Take: MedPAC analysts used PBJ data at the Commission’s September 2022 meeting to show staffing shifts in SNFs, including a near-tripling of contract staff hours between 2019 and 2021. The Commission declined…

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CMS starts study to inform minimum staffing rules for nursing homes

August 30, 2022

Our Take: In August 2022, CMS launched a four-part staffing study that included a literature review, site visits to 75 nursing homes across 15 states, quantitative analyses using PBJ data, and cost analyses.…

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PBJ News Topics

Read about PBJ regulations, research & news impacting SNFs

Most Recent PBJ News

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…

State Attorneys General ask CMS for staffing rule on for-profit SNFs

February 1, 2026

Minimum Staffing Roundup

Our Take: Following CMS’s repeal of a federal staffing mandate, attorneys general from 18 states are urging the…

SNF benchmarking report points to value based care, Medicare Advantage, and PBJ scrutiny

January 30, 2026

Latest PBJ News

Our Take: Plante Moran’s 2025 SNF Benchmarking Report analyzes data from over 12,000 skilled nursing facilities. They highlighted…

AHCA: Nursing homes added 40,700 jobs in 2025 as turnover, agency use declined

January 28, 2026

PBJ Research & Analysis

Our Take: AHCA/NCAL’s January 2026 Nursing Home Workforce Report shows that the nursing home sector added 40,700 jobs…

CMS Special Focus Facility program ‘crack down’ on troubled nursing homes ends use of staffing

January 28, 2026

PBJ Policy & Enforcement

Our Take: A CMS memo originally added staffing to the Special Focus Facility program but later shifted away…

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