New CMS Reporting Requirements For Nursing Homes Regarding COVID-19

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published a memorandum announcing new regulatory requirements for skilled nursing facilities to report any COVID-19 cases directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When discussing the new measures at the White House Task Force press conference, CMS Administrator Seema Verma stated, "as we reopen the United States, our surveillance effort around the COVID virus will also begin in nursing homes." Administrator Verma added, "this will support CDC's efforts to have surveillance around the country and to support efforts around contact tracing so that we can mitigate the spread of the virus in those communities that show spread starting in nursing homes." Prior to this announcement, CMS mandated that appropriate local, state and federal health departments could continue conducting limited infection control surveys, under the requirements of 42 CFR § 483.10(f)(4)(i)(A)-(B) to maintain