CMS Releases FY2026 Federal Monitoring Survey Guidance for Nursing Homes

• By: Maureen Carland
• On: 05/26/2026 08:40:16
• In: Quality/Regulatory

CMS has issued Admin Info Memo 26-06-NH, outlining its Federal Monitoring Survey (FMS) plan for Fiscal Year 2026. This memo is relevant to all skilled nursing facilities in Maine, as it describes how CMS will oversee the state survey process — and what federal surveyors may be doing at or around your facility this year.

Federal Monitoring Surveys are how CMS checks the quality of state survey work. They are not the same as your standard state survey — they are a layer of federal oversight on top of it. CMS conducts three types of FMS activities:

• Resource and Support Surveys (RSS): Federal surveyors accompany state surveyors during a standard survey to provide real-time guidance. You may not know they are present.
• Comparative Surveys: Federal surveyors conduct their own independent survey within 60 days of a state standard or complaint survey to determine whether deficiencies were appropriately identified.
• EP/LSC Desk Audits: Federal surveyors conduct a remote review of Emergency Preparedness and Life Safety Code documentation after a standard survey is completed.

What's Different in FY2026? CMS has reduced the required number of FMS visits by 10% to account for delays caused by the 2025 federal government shutdown. While this means fewer federal visits overall, CMS has confirmed it will still survey a minimum of five skilled nursing facilities in each state, including Maine.

What does this means for your center? A clean state survey does not eliminate the possibility of a federal comparative survey within the following 60 days. If federal surveyors identify deficiencies during any FMS activity, CMS — not the state — will take enforcement action directly.

Facilities should ensure that Emergency Preparedness and Life Safety Code documentation is current and organized, as desk audits can follow any standard survey with no on-site visit or advance notice.

Any questions, please contact regulatory@ahca.org.

Staff contact: mcarland[at]mehca.org