When CMS first implemented PBJ, facilities self-reported their census data for Five-Star staffing calculations. Since April 2018, CMS has automatically calculated the census instead. While facilities could still report their census, CMS did not use the data in its Five-Star staffing calculations. A January 9 update to PBJ Data Submission Specifications now states CMS will … Read More
PBJ audits: Why me?
We often get asked the “Why Me?” question when a facility gets audited. Unfortunately, there’s very little disclosure from CMS on the triggers and reasons for PBJ audits. Even the associations are unable to learn much about PBJ audits. So let’s change that! Complete the first-ever PBJ Audit Survey here or by clicking … Read More
PBJ: Hitting the news
With six quarters of PBJ-based Staffing Five-Star ratings, CMS has created a nationwide apples-to-apples data set that is catching the attention of researchers and academics. Harvard and Vanderbilt researchers published a study in Health Affairs this July. Their analysis of PBJ data found large daily staffing fluctuations, low weekend staffing, and daily staffing … Read More
CMS did it again! Here’s why your star rating just dropped…again
As we discussed in our recent Falling Stars blog post, CMS has adopted an aggressive approach in managing the Five-Star Quality Rating System. Their overall goal is to realign the star rating calculations and provide a more accurate overall rating system for SNFs. As our article mentioned, going forward CMS … Read More
CMS moves the goalposts for Staffing Five-Star ratings
Many facilities will lose a Staffing star due to CMS’ increased emphasis on RNs in Staffing Five-Star ratings In its March letter to State Survey Agency Directors and related updates to the Five-Star Users Guide, CMS announced a series of changes to Nursing Home Compare and Five-Star ratings, including: Changes to the … Read More