CMS has released the updated Five Star User’s Guide that describes the newest methodologies for calculating nursing home ratings that will be used at the January 27th refresh. The Health Inspection rating freeze has ended and includes surveys after March 3, 2020. Infection control survey deficiency data are included in the rating calculation similar to complaint surveys. Staffing data and ratings are based on Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) data for third quarter 2020 (July, August, September) that was due by November 14. Homes that did not meet that deadline or who qualified for the 1 star staffing penalty will have their staffing rating suppressed. The Quality Measures rating is updated using all the quality measures except the short-stay pressure ulcer and discharge to community measures. The quality measure rates reflect data from July 2019 through June 2020. Look for an email link to your Five-Star Analysis Report due following the January refresh. If you have questions regarding how your Five-Star Rating was calculated, contact Susan Chenail at schenail@leadingageny.org.
