The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has now released the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data for the first, second, and third quarters of calendar year 2017 to the public through public use files (PUFs). The PUFs can be accessed online and are posted here. Additionally, CMS has stated it will release risk adjusted measures on the average hours per resident day by nursing job categories this spring. CMS will also incorporate these measures into your Five-Star Ratings. The exact date of release is not yet known nor it is known when or if there will be a preview period for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The American Health Care Association (AHCA), our national affiliate, will continue to seek answers to help members understand the measures and the exact date the new measures will be released. Once CMS completes the switch to using PBJ data on Nursing Home Compare (NHC), CMS will announce when facilities can stop completing staffing information on Form 671. Lastly, CMS is now conducting both on-site and off-site audits of the PBJ data. If you receive a notification letter regarding the audit, you should take appropriate measures to comply. Failure to comply with the audit or having errors found during the audit of your submitted data will subject you to a negative icon on NHC and/or a suppression of NHC overall and staffing ratings.
Source: AHCA