Category: Nursing HPRD & Turnover

More PBJ Topics

  • Minimum Staffing
  • State Mandates & Medicaid
  • Survey & FTags for Staffing
  • Five Star Staffing Ratings
  • Nursing HPRD & Turnover
  • PBJ Audits by CMS

Appropriate Staffing Standards in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care

A push to mandate staffing levels at both state and federal levels persists after several decades. Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and long-term care (LTC) facilities (also referred to as nursing homes or nursing facilities) are no longer just for aging geriatric residents. Acuity level has increased and entering residents are younger, and/or with far more medically and socially complex needs (including more management of behaviors, tracheostomies, complex wound care, drains/tubes, life vests, and IV medications). In addition, experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed the importance of having sufficient staffing based on facility need and of hiring high-quality, well-trained staff.

CMS Focuses on Enforcement in Latest Statement on SNF Policies

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.

Ask the payment expert …. about the total nurse staffing measure

Q: What is the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Payment Total Nurse Staffing Measure? A: The Total Nursing Hours Per Resident Day Measure uses auditable electronic data reported to the Payroll-Based Journal system to calculate total nursing hours per resident day. It is one of two new measures that will begin affecting payments in the FY 2026 SNF VBP program year, the other being SNF Healthcare Associated Infections Requiring Hospitalization.

Things to remember when submitting PBJ data

CMS will provide further information as soon as possible but are encouraging facilities to still report data as they are able. There will be no penalties or negative impacts to staffing ratings for not submitting by May 15. As facilities work to gather the necessary information, here are some reminders to help perform a successful submission:

  • CMS' PBJ Policies
  • Rules for PBJ Reporting
  • Studies & Research of PBJ Data

Ask the payment expert …. about the total nurse staffing measure

Q: What is the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Payment Total Nurse Staffing Measure? A: The Total Nursing Hours Per Resident Day Measure uses auditable electronic data reported to the Payroll-Based Journal system to calculate total nursing hours per resident day. It is one of two new measures that will begin affecting payments in the FY 2026 SNF VBP program year, the other being SNF Healthcare Associated Infections Requiring Hospitalization.