CMS ‘Retooled’ Special Focus Facility Program Pushes for Faster Upgrades to Troubled Nursing Homes

CMS is going to put troubled nursing homes on a fast-track to improve with a ‘retooled’ Special Focus Facility program as reported by Bloomberg Law. Those who don’t make it will have their certifications revoked. This effort is designed to bring problem providers into compliance more quickly. But according to David Grabowski, Nexus Fellow and Harvard Medical School professor, there could be a downside to consider.

This new approach could be “taking dollars and access away from beneficiaries who don’t have anywhere else to turn,” says Grabowski, adding that “there’s not always operators lining up to enter into those markets.”

There are approximately 15,500 Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes in the United States. Approximately 2,500 of them have one star ratings.