Most states fail to conduct all nursing home safety inspections

Only 54% of U.S. nursing homes have received recent safety inspections, with only four states reaching all the facilities within their borders, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Under the CARES Act, CMS received $80 million to support states’ ability to conduct nursing home inspections. CMS announced it may withdraw a portion of CARES Act funding from states that don't complete all surveys by July 31 or a later agreed-upon date. “Early analysis shows that facilities with a one-star quality rating were more likely to have large numbers of COVID-19 cases than facilities with a five-star quality rating,” the agency said in a statement. CMS aims to improve the safety of nursing homes with such targeted accountability measures. (Modern Healthcare story, 6/1/20)