GAO recommends CMS improve nursing home oversight

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should evaluate state survey agency processes to ensure that all states are meeting federal requirements for investigating complaints and incidents alleging abuse in nursing homes, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued yesterday. While investigating nursing home oversight in five selected states, GAO said it found that the Oregon survey agency was not investigating all abuse complaints and facility-reported incidents as required by federal law. In a blog post yesterday, CMS Administrator Seema Verma explained how the federal agency is revising its oversight of state survey agencies. Among other actions, she noted that the agency recently released new guidance to help surveyors apply its “immediate jeopardy” standards more consistently nationwide.