CDC Provides New “Up to Date” Definition for COVID Vaccination
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has provided a new definition of what constitutes “up to date” with COVID vaccination. The previous definition expired at the end of Calendar Year 2025 Quarter 3 reporting period on September 28. At that time, CDC had not yet endorsed COVID vaccine recommendations for the 2025/2026 respiratory virus season. Vaccine recommendations were endorsed in early October but CDC was unable to update the reporting definition and had been advising providers to report “in the way that [was] most meaningful” to them. This directive meant that data involving classification of vaccination status of nursing home residents and healthcare personnel reported from September 29 going forward could not be standardized and was essentially meaningless. LeadingAge addressed this issue with both CDC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and a new definition has now been provided.
Effective for the reporting period that began on December 29, 2025, individuals aged 65 years and older are considered “up to date” with COVID vaccination if they have received two doses of the 2025/2026 vaccine or at least one dose in the past six months. Individuals under the age of 65 are considered up to date if they have received one dose of the 2025/2026 COVID vaccine. This definition will remain in effect through the end of the reporting period, March 29, 2026, and CDC reminds providers that they can go back to update data that was reported during this period prior to the release of the new definition. It is unclear at this time if CDC will continue this definition for subsequent reporting periods or if a new definition will be provided for the reporting period that begins March 30. LeadingAge will continue discussions with CDC and CMS on this matter.
Fate of Congressional Appropriations + Health Extenders Package Unclear; Shutdown Likely
As we reported last week, on January 22, the House passed the remainder of this year’s appropriations bills. There were two votes on Jan 22 — one of which included funding for the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. This package passed the House by a vote of 341-88. Separately was a vote on the funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which passed the House by a much narrower margin of 220-207. This narrower vote was mostly along party lines with 7 Democrats joining all Republicans (except Thomas Massie) in voting to pass the bill.
Unlike the House, the Senate expected to vote on all the remaining appropriations bill as one vote, so Senators would have to make a decision on all the spending bills together as opposed to a separate DHS funding vote. After this past weekend’s events in Minneapolis, Senator Schumer announced that Senate Democrats would be voting no on DHS funding and a number of moderate Democrats that Republicans would rely on to move the funding package echoed Senator Schumer’s position. Therefore, if the votes are not separated — and so far, there is no indication from Leader Thune that he plans to hold separate votes — it is expected that all of the appropriations bills will fail on the Senate floor. This means appropriations for a number of agencies, including HUD and HHS, will lapse and will be shutdown starting on Jan 31st. Health extenders, like telehealth and hospital at home, will also lapse so we would expect to see the same issues we saw in October. LeadingAge will monitor the appropriations bills and share any updated shutdown guidance that is issued this week if that continues to be the most likely outcome.
Nursing Home Care Compare Refresh POSTPONED
The quarterly refresh of Nursing Home Care Compare was scheduled to occur on January 28, updating the overall Five Star Rating and each of the domain ratings – health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notified LeadingAge on January 27 that an issue was observed with the data, and the refresh has been postponed to February 5. Unfortunately, an impending potential lapse in appropriations could cause further delays to these anticipated updates. LeadingAge will continue to monitor this situation and share updates as they become available.
SNF Provider Preview Reports Available in iQIES
The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are available in iQIES. These performance scores will be published on Care Compare with the April quarterly refresh. Providers have until February 14, 2026 to review these reports and submit any necessary requests for review. Note that no updates/corrections to underlying data will be accepted. Providers should request a review only if the performance score appears to have been calculated incorrectly. Information for submitting such a request prior to the February 14 deadline can be found on the Provider Preview Report.
CNA Lock-out Bill Reintroduced
Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) reintroduced the Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act (H.R. 7096) on January 21. This bill would allow nursing homes to continue operating in-house certified nurse aide (CNA) training programs even if they incur fines above a certain amount; provided fines were not issued for reasons related to direct resident care. LeadingAge has supported this bill in the past and will continue working with policymakers to ensure access to quality training programs that boost the long-term care workforce.
