The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 15th placed on display in the Federal Register a final rule requiring nursing homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid to disclose and submit certain ownership, managerial, and other information to CMS and state Medicaid agencies. CMS and states already collect some of the information addressed in the rule, but there would be new disclosures too, including the addition of data elements to the CMS-855A form through which owning and managing entities of SNFs would have to disclose whether they are either a private equity company or a Real Estate Investment Trust. The November 15th action finalizes a proposal CMS released in February 2023, and the final regulatory language is the same as what CMS proposed, with two technical changes.
LeadingAge submitted comments on the proposed rule in April expressing support for transparency with respect to ownership and operation, but also asking CMS to take steps to lessen the burden of data submission. While the final rule does not incorporate changes from the proposal, LeadingAge will continue to engage with CMS as it moves toward implementation of the requirements. The rule takes effect January 16, 2024, but nursing homes will not be expected to comply until CMS and states (with respect to Medicaid enrollment), have completed additional work needed to collect the information the rule requires to be submitted. This CMS fact sheet provides an overview of the rule, and LeadingAge will soon publish an article with additional analysis.
