News

CMS is proposing a steep 9% cut to the Medicare Fee for Service (FFS) payment rates for home health services. Our partners at LeadingAge have been analyzing the 2026 Home Health Payment System Rate Update, and when combined with the 8.8% payment reductions the agency has imposed since CY2023, the impact will be significant to all providers of home health care.

On July 30, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) informed LeadingAge Minnesota that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has once again clarified its position regarding resident rights and Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP).

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has posted draft materials needed for certain federally-assisted housing providers to comply with requirements under the Housing Opportunity and Modernization Act (HOTMA).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline for off-cycle Medicare provider revalidation to Jan. 1, 2026 — a significant shift from the previously announced Aug. 1, 2025 deadline. This marks the third postponement of the requirement.

On June 18, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released memo QSO-25-20-NH, announcing several impactful changes to the Nursing Home Care Compare website, set to take effect with the July and October 2025 quarterly data refreshes. These updates are part of CMS’s continuing efforts to enhance transparency and improve the accuracy and utility of performance data for nursing home providers, residents, and families.

Each month, Minnesota Housing posts an update for HUD providers called MOR Hot Topics. This publication recaps top items they’ve been finding in Management Occupancy Reviews (MOR) and other relevant updates for providers of HUD housing. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Nursing Homes has resumed regular calls with LeadingAge and other national stakeholder associations.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has weighed in on questions from LeadingAge National about how housing providers should handle retroactive payments resulting from the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA).

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is pausing its appeal of court rulings that blocked the agency’s April 2024 overtime rule, which sought to increase the salary thresholds necessary to exempt a salaried executive, administrative or professional (EAP) employee from federal overtime pay requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Staff from HUD have announced publicly - at both the LeadingAge Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. and a recent NAHMA conference – that there will be a delay in requiring providers to comply with HOTMA (Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act).

Nursing homes must now submit off-cycle revalidations by August 1. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) enacted a final rule in November 2023 implementing portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which added a section to the Social Security Act related to ownership, management, and related parties.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services has released changes to the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers should review their current I-9 form’s expiration date and begin integrating the new I-9 form into their employee verification systems and processes.

HUD has released its income limits for affordable rental communities, effective 4/1/2025.    These income limits are used by providers of affordable rental property to help a property determine eligibility criteria.

Each month, Minnesota Housing posts an update for providers called HOT Topics. This publication recaps top items they’ve been finding in Management Occupancy Reviews (MOR) and other relevant updates for providers of HUD housing.

Significant changes are coming for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). On March 24, 2025, new and revised surveyor guidance, including updated critical element pathways, will take effect.

Yesterday, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News released a breaking story that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will offer nursing students up to $40,000 in tuition reimbursement and/or $10,000 outright to work for a nursing home or state survey agency.

On December 16, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Senate-passed version of S. 141, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, clearing the way for the bill to be signed into law by the President.

January 2025 will bring significant updates to the Five-Star Quality Rating System. The freeze on four Quality Measures (QMs) that began in April 2024 will come to an end with the Care Compare update.

On Nov. 18, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released QSO-25-07-NH outlining updates to Appendix PP, including revised surveyor guidance and F-tag changes for nursing homes.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has published a new rule requiring housing providers to provide written notification to tenants facing eviction for non-payment of rent 30 days in advance of filing a formal judicial eviction procedure.