CMS lifts restrictions on nursing home visitation

Nov 16, 2021 - 08:43 AM
cms-nh-work-for-medicaid

Nursing home visitation is now allowed for all residents at all times, according to updated guidance released Friday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The guidance also requires nursing homes to educate residents and staff on the risks and benefits of vaccines, offer to administer the vaccine, and continue to report resident and staff vaccination data for public posting on the CMS website, among other measures. About 86% of residents and 74% of staff are now fully vaccinated, and the average weekly number of new COVID-19 cases among nursing home residents declined 80% between January and September to 5,100, the guidance notes. 

CMS this month issued an interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for workers in most health care settings that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including hospitals and nursing homes. 

On Friday, CMS also released separate guidance rescinding the requirement for state survey agencies to conduct COVID-19-focused infection control surveys within 3-5 days of an outbreak of COVID-19 in a nursing home; resuming standard recertification surveys for nursing homes; and providing flexibilities to address a backlog after the suspension of certain onsite survey activities during the pandemic.

Related News Articles

Headline
FDA to limit COVID-19 vaccine to people over 65, others at high risk for serious illness
Leaders of the Food and Drug Administration May 20 announced new guidelines for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in a paper published by the New England…
Headline
Study finds driving with COVID-19 raises crash risk by 25%
A study published April 8 by the Public Library of Science’s Journal of Global Public Health found that driving while infected with COVID-19 raises the risk of…
Headline
Senate Finance Committee advances RFK Jr. nomination for HHS secretary
The Senate Finance Committee Feb. 4 voted 14-13 to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. A…
Headline
CDC: Flu activity remains high, COVID-19 increasing while RSV peaks 
Respiratory illness activity remains high across the country, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seasonal flu…
Headline
OSHA ends efforts to establish COVID-19 safety standard 
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration Jan. 13 announced that it terminated efforts to establish a final COVID-19 safety standard to protect workers…
Headline
Certain PREP Act liability protections for COVID-19 countermeasures extended through 2029 
The Department of Health and Human Services Dec. 10 amended the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration for COVID-19, extending liability…