CMS Oversight of Nursing Facility Staffing Levels

Staffing levels in nursing facilities can impact residents' quality of care. Nursing facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare payments must provide sufficient licensed nursing services 24 hours a day, including a registered nurse for at least 8 consecutive hours every day. CMS uses auditable daily staffing data, called the Payroll-Based Journal, to analyze staffing patterns and populate the staffing component of the Nursing Home Compare website - a site that enables the public to compare the results of health and safety inspections, the quality of care provided at nursing facilities, and staffing at nursing facilities. We will examine nursing staffing levels reported by facilities to the Payroll-Based Journal and CMS's efforts to ensure data accuracy and improve resident quality of care by both enforcing minimum requirements and incentivizing high quality staffing above minimum requirements.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
Completed	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	CMS Oversight of Nursing Facility Staffing Levels	Office of Evaluation and Inspections	OEI-04-18-00450	2020