CMS Rule Requires Nursing Home Staff to be Tested for COVID-19

COVID-19

August 26, 2020

WASHINGTON -- An interim final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that requires all Medicare-certified nursing homes test their staff for COVID-19 is drawing mixed reviews from the homes.

"The pandemic has already cost nursing homes tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars, as dedicated workers have been shouting for help from the front line," Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit nursing homes, said in a statement. "Nursing homes will put the resources CMS announced today to good use. But the fight against this virus is far from over, and our members need continued support."

She added that "the antigen testing machines HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] is delivering to nursing homes will help, but members who already have the machines report that they are still waiting for instructions and test kits to make them usable."

Recent News

title AMDA leadership weighs in on DEA’s telehealth medicine rules debate

body:

AMDA–The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine is pleased that the federal government is taking more seriously the need to relax restrictions on prescribing medication via telehealth, a spokeswoman said.

date:

path: https://old.paltc.org/newsroom/amda-leadership-weighs-dea%E2%80%99s-telehealth-medicine-rules-debate

title Coalition launches to improve access...

body:

A coalition of experts launched a new initiative Wednesday with the goal of getting 43 recommendations for medical and mental healthcare in assisted living put into practice...

date:

path: https://old.paltc.org/newsroom/coalition-launches-improve-access

title A light in the darkness: Swati Gaur, MD, medical director

body:

The rare number of New Horizons residents in northwest Georgia who find themselves in the COVID-19 ward now, beset with mild symptoms and upset over the inconvenience of being moved from their rooms after testing positive, tend to grouse to their medical director.

date:

path: https://old.paltc.org/newsroom/light-darkness-swati-gaur-md-medical-director

title 43 recommendations help fill gap in medical and mental healthcare guidance for assisted living, experts say

body:

Forty-three recommendations stemming from a new study represent “an initial step” to filling a gap in guidance regarding medical and mental healthcare in assisted living, according to the study’s authors, who said that such guidance “has been long-awaited.”
...

date:

path: https://old.paltc.org/newsroom/43-recommendations-help-fill-gap-medical-and-mental-healthcare-guidance-assisted-living

title Nursing Home Medical Directors Should Be Named Publicly, Bill Urges

body:

It's just a two-page, barely 200-word bill. But if passed as the authors intend, it would require all 15,000 Medicare-approved nursing homes in the nation to publicly report the name of their medical director.

date:

path: https://old.paltc.org/newsroom/nursing-home-medical-directors-should-be-named-publicly-bill-urges

Utility menu

Footer menu