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Medicaid Nursing Home Life Safety and Emergency Preparedness Reviews

Announced on  | Last Modified on  | Project Number: A-01-23-00003
Status
Completed
Agency
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

OBJECTIVE

Previous OIG audits on Medicaid nursing home life safety and emergency preparedness have identified multiple issues that put vulnerable populations at risk and indicated that nursing homes in various States are not complying with these requirements. In 2016, CMS updated its health care facilities' life safety and emergency preparedness requirements to improve protections for all Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, including those residing in long-term-care (LTC) facilities. In addition, in 2019 CMS also issued expanded guidance on emerging infectious disease control to ensure that health care facilities are prepared to respond to threats from infectious diseases. OIG is reviewing this area because residents of LTC facilities are particularly vulnerable to risks such as fires, natural disasters, or disease outbreak (such as COVID-19 and other coronaviruses). Our objective is to determine whether LTC facilities that received Medicare or Medicaid funds complied with new Federal requirements for life safety and emergency and infectious disease control preparedness.

TIMELINE

REPORT PUBLISHED

Massachusetts Could Better Ensure That Nursing Homes Comply With Federal Requirements for Life Safety, Emergency Preparedness, and Infection Control (A-01-23-00003)

25-A-01-002.01 to CMS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 04/03/2025
We recommend that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health follow up with the 20 nursing homes reviewed in this audit that demonstrated life safety, emergency preparedness, and infection control deficiencies to ensure that they have taken corrective actions.

25-A-01-002.02 to CMS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 04/03/2025
We recommend that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health work with CMS to develop a risk-based approach to identify nursing homes at which surveys should be conducted more frequently than once every 15 months, such as those with a history of multiple high-risk deficiencies or frequent management turnover.

25-A-01-002.03 to CMS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 04/03/2025
We recommend that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health work with CMS to develop a plan to address the foundational issues preventing more frequent surveys at nursing homes with a history of multiple high-risk deficiencies.

25-A-01-002.04 to CMS - Open Unimplemented
Update expected on 04/03/2025
We recommend that the Massachusetts Department of Public health work with CMS to develop standardized life safety training for nursing home staff.

View in Recommendation Tracker
Work Plan Type
Office of Audit Services
HHS Agencies
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Issue Areas
Emergency Preparedness and Response Quality of Care
Target Groups
-
Financial Groups
Medicaid