Washington, DC — LeadingAge is encouraged that the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has decided to delay issuing enforcement remedies for specific phase 2 requirements of the revised Requirements of Participation.

Requirements will continue to be enforced, but penalties for violations will be limited. This will give providers a chance to understand, prepare, and comply with some of the most complex and challenging aspects of the new requirements.

“We are pleased that CMS has heard our collective voices on the absolute need for longer lead time to put new procedures and practices in place to come into full compliance with the new requirements,” said LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan. “This is the way they should be phased in, giving nursing homes the opportunity to absorb wide-ranging new requirements, get expert help implementing them, and thoroughly train their staff.”

The phase 2 requirements include a facility-wide assessment of competencies of staff, new requirements on medical chart review and psychotropic drugs, and antibiotic stewardship. These and other new requirements represent a significant change in nursing home regulation, and it is appropriate that nursing homes have more time to put new procedures and staff training in place.

LeadingAge had the opportunity to meet with CMS officials earlier this year to voice its concerns and submitted a lengthy document outlining our specific comments with input from more than 40 of its nursing home members.