News for MDS Experts

🎉 We’re kicking off our 2026 Education Year with AAPACN!

MDS Consultants is proud to begin our 2026 education year as an AAPACN Training Partner, starting with the QAPI Certified Professional (QCP®) Workshop in April 2026.

This nationally recognized workshop is designed to help facilities move beyond compliance and strengthen meaningful QAPI programs that truly impact resident care.
📅 QCP® | April 14–17, 2026
🖥️ Virtual | Eastern Time
🎓 15 Continuing Education Credits

🔗 Register at cstu.io/5568d2

Follow us for additional AAPACN certification opportunities throughout 2026.

#AAPACN #AAPACNTrainingPartner #QCP #QAPI #MDSConsultants #SNFEducation #LongTermCare #NurseLeadership #Compliance #QualityImprovement ... See MoreSee Less

🚨CMS is releasing the following guidance in Chapter 5 of the SOM: • Revisions to Immediate Jeopardy Priority Definition examples for Nursing Homes; and • Clarification of Off-site investigations.
CMS has updated and revised guidance in Chapter 7 of the SOM that includes: • Survey Team Composition, Survey Procedures, Plans of Correction, Verifying Corrections, Survey Revisit and Offsite Revisit Paper Review, Off-hours Survey, Enforcement, Nurse Staffing Waivers, Disposition of Civil Money Penalties (CMP), Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Reduction Act, Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR), and Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR); • Additionally, guidance previously found in Appendix P of the State Operations Manual has been added to Chapter 7; and • Technical changes that include updates for accurate references
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and MA and Part D Payment Policies (the CY 2027 Advance Notice). This annual release proposes routine and technical updates that ensure MA and Part D payments are accurate. CMS will accept comments on the CY 2027 Advance Notice through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time February 25, 2026, before publishing the final Rate Announcement on or before April 6, 2026.
The CY 2027 Advance Notice may be viewed at: cstu.io/6c045d.
To read the CMS fact sheet on the CY 2027 Advance Notice, visit: cstu.io/fd454c.
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Happy Friday! ☀️

A quick thank you to the administrators, nurses, MDS coordinators, and interdisciplinary team members who navigate complex regulations while keeping resident care at the center of everything they do. Your work matters.
Wishing everyone a restful and well-deserved weekend.

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🚨𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: The SNF Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on the compare tool on cstu.io/a59faf and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the April 2026 refresh.
Providers have until February 14, 2026, to review their performance data. Only updates/corrections to the underlying assessment data before the final data submission deadline will be reflected in the publicly reported data on https://cstu.io/98d400 and PDC. If a provider updates assessment data after the final data submission deadline, the updated data will only be reflected in the Facility-Level Quality Measure (QM) report and Patient-Level QM report. Updates submitted after the final data submission deadline will not be reflected in the Provider Preview Reports or on https://cstu.io/98d400. However, providers can request a CMS review of their data during the preview period if they believe the displayed quality measure scores within their Provider Preview Reports are inaccurate.
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𝗙𝗲𝗯 𝟭𝟬 | 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲: 𝗠𝗗𝗦 𝟭𝟬/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 – 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀?

October 1, 2025, brought significant changes to the RAI Manual and MDS item sets — and many facilities are still feeling the impact.

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝟲𝟰𝟭 – 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴:
- More MDS accuracy citations
- Increased validation audit risk
- Confusion around documentation responsibilities across the IDT

This roundtable-style webinar will focus on the real struggles facilities are experiencing since the 10/1/2025 changes — and practical paths forward.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿:
✔ MDS sections driving increased accuracy errors
✔ Common F641 deficiency trends
✔ Impact of MDS revisions on validation audits and quality measures
✔ Best practices to strengthen MDS accuracy

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱:
Administrators, DNS, MDS Coordinators, Nurse Assessment Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Managers, and IDT members

👉 Registration required to receive your personal login link: cstu.io/7c2a67
👉 Don’t see the Register button? Membership upgrade may be required.

#MDS #RAI #F641 #SurveyReadiness #MDSAccuracy #SkilledNursing #LongTermCare #IDTMDS ... See MoreSee Less

🚨CMS is revising the focus area for selection to emphasize the prevalence of falls among the resident population when considering facilities for SFF selection. In addition to health inspection scores, State Agencies may consider facility falls staffing data when selecting new SFFs. This action is being taken following the Office of Inspector General’s Report, which highlighted the seriousness of nursing home resident falls and the importance of improving fall safety.
cstu.io/a6c229
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𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘: Impact of Combined Assessments on SNF APU: How Medicare 5-Day and PPS Discharge Combined Assessments Affect Your Facility’s APU Calculation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a one-page resource for SNF providers that illustrates how Medicare 5-Day and PPS Discharge combined assessments can impact the APU calculation. Providers should anticipate more in-depth training focused on the criteria for success for the SNF QRP APU in the near future.
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