The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced changes to the nursing home rating system beginning in 2015. Beginning in 2015, CMS will implement the following improvements to the Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System: Nationwide Focused Survey Inspections: Effective January 2015, CMS and states will implement focused survey inspections nationwide for a sample of nursing homes to enable better verification of both the staffing and quality measure information that is part of the Five-Star Quality Rating System. In Fiscal Year (FY 2014), CMS piloted special surveys of nursing homes that focused on investigating the coding of the

On October 6, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule detailing revisions to the Conditions of Participation for Home Health Agencies. This proposed rule represents the first update to the Home Health Agency Conditions of Participation since 1989. According to the CMS website, the provisions of the proposed rule include: Includes revisions to the Outcomes and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) requirements to update applicable electronic data transmissions to meet current federal standards. Expands the current patient rights requirements to clarify the rights of each patient, the process for conducting patient rights violation investigations, and