The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has resumed updates to Nursing Home Care Compare after delays caused by the federal shutdown, acting on LeadingAge’s November 13 letter urging an off-cycle refresh. The Health Inspection domain had been frozen since August, and the October 29 quarterly update could not occur during the shutdown, leaving the Staffing, Quality Measures and overall Five-Star ratings temporarily outdated. CMS provided LeadingAge with the refreshed data on Nov. 20, bringing all three domains and the overall rating current again.
The next quarterly refresh is planned for January and will introduce a revised long-stay antipsychotics measure using claims data. Providers who identify discrepancies in their ratings may contact CMS at bettercare@cms.hhs.gov. LeadingAge will continue working with CMS as additional verification and reporting functions come back online.