5-Star Revisions Reminder

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 04/29/2024 10:21:50
• In: Quality/Regulatory

As a reminder, effective with the April 2024 refresh, CMS will freeze four of the Quality Measures (QMs) used in the Five-Star Quality Rating System. The four QMs impacted by recent changes to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) are:

• Percentage of Residents Who Made Improvements in Function (short stay)
• Percentage of Residents Whose Need for Help with Activities of Daily Living Has Increased (long-stay)
• Percentage of Residents Whose Ability to Move Independently Worsened (long stay)
• Percentage of High-Risk Residents with Pressure Ulcers (long stay)

Starting in April 2024, CMS will freeze (hold constant) these four measures on Nursing Home Care Compare.

In October 2024, CMS will replace the short-stay functional improvement measure with the new cross-setting function measure that is used in the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP). The remaining three measures will continue to be frozen until January 2025 while the data for the equivalent measures are collected. In April 2024, CMS will also update the staffing level case-mix adjustment methodology and freeze three staffing level measures until July 2024:

• Adjusted RN Staffing (Hours per Resident per Day)
• Adjusted Total Nurse Staffing (Hours per Resident per Day)
• Adjusted Total Nurse Staffing on weekends (Hours per Resident per Day)

Staffing turnover measures will not be affected by the changes described above, and therefore continue to be updated in April 2024.

In addition, beginning in April 2024, to incentivize providers to submit accurate staffing data, CMS will revise the staffing rating methodology so providers that fail to submit staffing data or submit erroneous data receive the lowest score possible for corresponding staffing turnover measures.
For more information, see The Five-Star User's Guide 2024 Changes are identified in red, italicized text.
 
Staff Contact: mcarland@mehca.org