News for MDS Experts

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing an errata change table document to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User's Manual v18.0, related to the clarification of details for the Long-Stay Antipsychotic measure in Chapter 1, Section 6. This errata is being issued to clarify guidance related to the respecification of the Long-Stay Antipsychotic measure effective January 1, 2026. The supplemental files referenced in the manual, including the HCPCS codes, hospice exclusion codes, diagnosis exclusion ICD-10 codes, and the NDC codes have also been updated.
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🚨On April 2, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule for updates to Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities under the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2027. CMS is publishing this proposed rule consistent with the legal requirements to update Medicare payment policies for SNFs annually.
Here are the highlights: cstu.io/3396a2
FY 2027 Proposed Updates to the SNF Payment Rates-𝘍𝘠 2027, 𝘊𝘔𝘚 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘗𝘗𝘚 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 2.4% 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 3.2%, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 0.8% 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.
FY 2027 Proposed Updates to the SNF QRP- 𝘊𝘔𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘘𝘙𝘗, 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘠 2028 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘘𝘙𝘗. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘖𝘝𝘐𝘋-19 𝘝𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘖𝘝𝘐𝘋-19 𝘝𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦: 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴/𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘜𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦; 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 4.5 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 15𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘠 2029 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘘𝘙𝘗; 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘋𝘚 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘚𝘕𝘍, 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳.
FY 2027 SNF VBP-𝘊𝘔𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘠 2029 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘠 2030 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘊𝘔𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦” 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 42 𝘊𝘍𝘙 § 413.338(𝘧)(1)(𝘷) 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘋𝘚 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘘𝘙𝘗 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘋𝘚 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢, 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘠 2027 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢.
FY 2027 SNF QRP RFI-𝘊𝘔𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘔𝘚 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘕𝘍 𝘘𝘙𝘗: 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 (𝘈𝘊𝘗).
and Updating the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) payment system to address Case Mix Upcoding RFI. ... See MoreSee Less

In a report, the Office of Inspector General found that Medicare Part D improperly paid for drugs during Part A skilled nursing facility (SNF) stays. Drugs prescribed for a Part D-enrolled patient aren’t covered by Part D if Part A or Part B can pay for them.
Learn how to avoid improper payments. See the SNF Billing Reference educational tool to find out when to bill your patients prescription drugs to Part A, instead of their Part D drug plan.
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There’s a difference between learning the MDS… and actually working in it every day.

As an AAPACN Training Partner, we’re hosting the RAC-CT Certification Workshop this June — with a focus on how the RAI process shows up in real workflows.
From ARDs and scheduling to documentation, coding decisions, and PDPM impact, this workshop connects the material to what teams are navigating in practice.

Led by AAPACN Master Teacher Jessica Stucin, RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA.

June 2–5, 2026
Virtual | 10:00 AM – 4:23 PM ET

If this is something you or your team have been considering, we’d love to have you join us.

👉 Details and registration: cstu.io/e7df40

#LongTermCare #SkilledNursing #NursingHome #PDPM #MDSCoordinator #HealthcareEducation #SNF #NurseLife #AAPACNTRAININGPARTNER #MDSEDUCATION ... See MoreSee Less

CMS and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response's Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (ASPR TRACIE) analyzed frequently cited emergency preparedness deficiencies. Visit the updated CMS Health Care Provider Guidance webpage for more information, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 (𝙋𝘿𝙁). 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, 𝗔𝗹𝗹-𝗛𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳, 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗣 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺.
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🚨𝟯/𝟭𝟯/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have approved the control number for the Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-coverage (ABN) (CMS-R-131). The updated ABN is effective now and expires March 31, 2029. Providers may continue to use the expired version of the ABN until May 12, 2026, but must transition to the approved form no later than that date. The Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), Form CMS-R-131, is issued by providers (including independent laboratories, home health agencies, and hospices), physicians, practitioners, and suppliers to Original Medicare (fee for service - FFS) beneficiaries in situations where Medicare payment is expected to be denied. The ABN is issued in order to transfer potential financial liability to the Medicare beneficiary in certain instances.
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𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

With the April 2025 regulatory updates and the 2026 hybrid antipsychotic quality measure, facilities are expected to take a more structured, team-based approach to medication management.

Join us on April 7 for: Manage Psychoactive Medications to Reduce Survey Headaches (Part 1)

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:
▪️Discuss the April 2025 regulatory updates
▪️Identify high risk psychoactive medications and indications per RAI guidelines
▪️Review elements of GDR compliance
▪️Gain strategies for monitoring psychoactive medications in SNF

This session will focus on practical application, documentation support, and team collaboration to strengthen your approach.

👥 Who should attend:
Administrators, Directors of Nursing Services, Nurse Assessment Coordinators, MDS Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Managers, and MDS Interdisciplinary Team members

👉 Register: cstu.io/fb564d

#longtermcare #SNF #MDS #RegulatoryCompliance #SurveyReadiness #gdr #psychotropicmedications #NursingLeadership #HealthcareEducation ... See MoreSee Less