CMS requires nursing homes to report COVID-19 cases to CDC

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week announced regulations requiring nursing homes to fully cooperate with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance of the spread of COVID-19 by reporting cases of COVID-19 directly to the CDC. “This coordinated effort with CMS will allow CDC to provide even more detailed information to state and local health departments about how COVID-19 is affecting nursing home residents in order to develop additional recommendations to keep them safe,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD. Nursing homes must also inform residents, their families and their representatives of COVID-19 cases in their facilities. (CMS news release, 4/19/20)