CMS regulators may fine nursing homes that violate federal safety standards for each day they are out of compliance under a renewed penalty policy, The New York Times reported July 28.
In 2017, the Trump administration amended the policy, limiting such penalties to a single fine of up to $22,000.
Four details:
1. In July, President Joe Biden's administration revoked the 2017 change, enabling CMS regulators to again fine facilities on a per-day or per-instance basis.
In the updated guidance, the administration said it had "determined that the agency should retain the discretion at this time to impose a per-day penalty where appropriate to address specific circumstances of prior noncompliance."
2. Under the earlier policy — part of the previous administration's rollback of government regulations in many business sectors — nursing home penalties that may have reached hundreds of thousands of dollars were limited to a maximum of $22,000. For example, 15 residents died after a COVID-19 outbreak at Prestige Post-Acute and Rehab Center at Kittitas in Ellensburg, Wash., in 2020. A Medicare survey found the facility failed to meet infection control standards for over a month. Under the previous policy, it was fined $21,295. If fined per-day, penalties could have totaled more than $600,000, the Times reports.
3. Critics of the 2017 policy say larger fines serve as a stronger incentive for nursing homes that are in violation of safety standards to correct the issues and comply.
4. In January, the AARP Foundation filed a federal lawsuit challenging the previous policy, alleging it put residents at greater risk.
To read the full New York Times article, click here.