Nursing Home Update

March 12, 2004

Dear Administrator:

As you know, since January 1, 2003, nursing facilities have been required to post nurse staffing information pursuant to Section 941 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA).  In furtherance of the BIPA mandate, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed regulations defining the required format and content for providing such information.  The proposed regulations were recently published in the February 27, 2004 Federal Register.**

The proposed regulation requires long term care facilities to use a CMS-specified form (the Daily Nurse Staffing Form) to record current nurse staffing numbers as well as resident census at the end of each shift and to post the information in a prominent place readily accessible to residents and visitors.  Under the proposed  rule, only nursing staff (i.e., registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or licensed vocation nurses and certified nurse aides) assigned and directly responsible for resident care are to be recorded for staffing purposes. Additionally, facilities will be required to make such information available to the public and to maintain documentation for a minimum of 3 years, or as required by State law, whichever is greater.

Public comments with regard to the proposed regulations will be received by CMS no later than 5 P.M. on April 27, 2004.                                        

If you would like additional information or have any questions, please feel free to contact Patrick Formato or Barbara Phair or any of the other attorneys in our Health Care Law Department at (516) 328-2300.