CMS Modifies CMP Structure for Skilled Nursing Facilities

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Jonathan Lips

CMS recently issued QSO 21-20 NH, a one-paragraph memo that rescinds a July 2017 Memo (S&C 17-37-NH) from the CMS guidance library.

In the 2017 memo, CMS instructed CMS Regional Offices to impose civil monetary penalties for past noncompliance solely on a per-instance basis.

Surveyors may cite a nursing facility for past noncompliance if three criteria are met:

• The facility was not in compliance with a specific regulatory requirement (F-tag or K-tag) at the time the situation occurred;
• The noncompliance occurred after the exit date of the last standard (recertification) survey and before the survey (standard, complaint, or revisit) currently being conducted; and
• There is sufficient evidence that the facility corrected the noncompliance and is in substantial compliance at the time of the current survey for the applicable requirement.

Upon further consideration, CMS has determined that the agency should retain the discretion to impose a per-day penalty where appropriate to address specific circumstances of prior noncompliance.

No additional information is available at this time, except that CMS will work with regional offices to apply this discretion, and any final notice of noncompliance will set forth the penalty and the reason(s) for imposing per-instance or per-day penalties.