CMS Delays Minimum Data Set Release

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is delaying the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 v1.18.1 release—which had been scheduled for October 1, 2020—in response to stakeholder concerns. The MDS item sets are used by nursing home and swing bed providers to collect and submit patient data to CMS. This MDS data informs payment, quality, and the survey process.

In December of 2019, CMS posted a draft of the MDS 3.0 item set v1.18.0 and received stakeholder feedback. That feedback led to the decision to delay. CMS staff members are actively engaged in discussions with various stakeholders regarding different changes, the impacts of those changes, as well as the compressed timeline to educate and train facility staff and update software and IT systems.

Please email any comments or questions regarding the delay to MDSCodinganswers@cms.hhs.gov.