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Specialized Information for:
Long-Term Care ConsumersFamily MembersAdvocatesCOVID-19
February 03, 2023
On Thursday, February 3, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report, “Nursing Homes: CMS Should Make Ownership Information More Transparent for Consumers,” finding fault with how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) currently provides information to consumers regarding nursing home ownership.
February 02, 2023
Consumer Voice along with more than a dozen other advocacy organizations sent a letter to Chiquita Brooks-Lasure, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), expressing strong support for the agency’s efforts to address the staffing crisis in nursing homes across the country.
February 01, 2023
This announcement means that all outstanding waivers granted to nursing homes from certain regulatory requirements will end on May 11, 2023.
January 19, 2023
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) released a data brief that examined how COVID-19 affected nursing homes during the first year of the pandemic.
January 18, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new steps to stop the inappropriate diagnosing of schizophrenia which often results in the improper use of antipsychotic medications to sedate and chemically restrain nursing home residents.
January 12, 2023
Consumer Voice has released a new issue brief examining why staffing is important in nursing homes and what a federal staffing standard should include.
January 06, 2023
MACPAC, a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress on Medicaid programs, issued a report finding that without increased transparency in how nursing homes spend Medicaid dollars, it could not properly calculate the actual costs of providing care to Medicaid residents in nursing homes.
December 20, 2022
Two new episodes of the Pursing Quality Long-Term Care podcast are now available: Visiting Nursing Homes This Holiday Season and What Nursing Home Residents and Their Families Need to Know about COVID-19 Vaccinations and Boosters.
December 06, 2022
Nursing home residents need your help! Contact your members of Congress today and tell them to stand with nursing home residents and include nursing home provisions in an end of year appropriations bill.
December 01, 2022
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services used Medicare data to identify certain characteristics or risk factors that placed nursing home residents at an increased risk of discharge
November 29, 2022
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking about the use of adult portable bed rails. Comments are due by January 9, 2023.
November 29, 2022
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 within congregate settings, including assisted living facilities.
November 28, 2022
With your continued help we will be at the table as decisions are being made to ensure the well-being of residents is at the center of any policy development and ensure resident voices are heard.
November 23, 2022
The holiday season is quickly approaching and nursing home residents will soon be welcoming an increased number of loved ones visiting their facilities. With a little planning and preparation, residents can visit with their loved ones and stay safe during their holiday visits! Remember: Residents have the right to see visitors of their choosing when they choose, and residents can leave their facilities to visit with family, participate in community activities, or for any other reason.
November 18, 2022
Report from Office of Inspector General (OIG) reveals that CMS’s ten-year effort to stop illegal drugging of nursing home residents has failed.
November 01, 2022
Despite noting its success, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it was relaxing enforcement practices regarding its mandate that all nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19.
October 26, 2022
A new fact sheet, Inspiring Community Engagement with Long-Term Care Facilities, provides ideas for building community within a long-term care facility and becoming a part of the larger community outside of the facility.
October 26, 2022
Central to the announcement were changes to the Special Focus Facilities (SFF) program and newly available funds to support good-quality nursing home jobs.
October 24, 2022
New fact sheet available explaining CMS guidance for masking during visitation in nursing homes.
October 20, 2022
In this episode, join us as we speak about this year’s Residents’ Rights Month theme, Inspiring Unity within Our Community. Lori Smetanka, Executive Director, and Jocelyn Bogdan, Senior Policy Specialist, discuss why having a community is important, how residents can exercise their rights around their community, and examples of ways residents, families, and staff can help build a community for residents living in long-term care.
October 14, 2022
A new fact sheet from Consumer Voice and the National Center on Elder Abuse provides information on how families can identify abuse and what to do if you suspect abuse is occurring.
October 12, 2022
Consumer Voice joined an amicus brief, filed with partner organizations, to the U.S. Supreme Court in Health and Hospital Corp. v. Talevski on behalf of residents of nursing facilities to maintain their ability to enforce their rights under the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act and Section 1983.
October 11, 2022
CMS has waived the full training and certification requirements for nurse aides in long-term care facilities for fifteen states.
October 10, 2022
The Fall 2022 issue of The Resident Advocate is now available. This newsletter provides information on residents’ rights and care issues; news and updates on national policy; and self-advocacy tips for obtaining person-centered, quality care.
October 04, 2022
Consumer Voice sent a letter to the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services commenting on the notice of proposed rulemaking on Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Health Care Rights Law (Section 1557 of the ACA) prohibits discrimination in health care on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability.
October 01, 2022
Residents’ Rights Month is an opportunity to focus on and celebrate the dignity and rights of every individual receiving long-term services and supports.
September 27, 2022
Under the new guidance, nursing homes in counties where COVID-19 community transmission is not high can choose not to require visitors to wear face coverings or masks while in the facility, except during an outbreak.
September 27, 2022
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has made additional data publicly available on the ownership of all Medicare-certified nursing homes.
September 21, 2022
On September 14, 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report detailing the catastrophic failure of nursing homes to protect residents from COVID-19.
September 08, 2022
A new Consumer Voice report shows that nursing homes with higher staff turnover provide poorer care; have higher instances of resident abuse; and have higher numbers of substantiated resident complaints.
August 31, 2022
Despite ending the waiver in June, CMS continues to allow nursing homes to employ uncertified staff for longer than four months. On August 29, 2022, CMS issued formal guidance to nursing homes, counties, and states on how they may continue to operate without properly certified staff.
August 24, 2022
Central to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ goal of establishing a minimum staffing standard is a multi-faceted staffing study to be conducted by CMS.
August 17, 2022
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky has introduced the Linking Investors and Nursing Home Quality (LINHQ) Act and the Infrastructure Modernization Project Related to the Overall Enhancement of Nursing Homes Act (IMPROVE Nursing Homes Act).
August 10, 2022
The new regulations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included changes to the requirements for the Director of Food and Nutrition Services and updates to the Life Safety Code.
July 12, 2022
Consumer Voice has created a Reference Guide and summary to help consumers understand and access updated guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
July 12, 2022
Have you taken all three of our recent actions? 1) Schedule a Visit; 2) Send a Message; 3) Make a Phone Call
June 30, 2022
On June 29, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued long-awaited guidance to state survey agencies.
June 22, 2022
Join us in-person in Baltimore, Maryland November 14-16, 2022 and virtually December 8-9, 2022.
June 21, 2022
Nursing homes have been telling Members of Congress why they can’t provide quality care and hire staff. Your Members need to hear from YOU to say “Yes, they can” and to support policies that will hold the nursing homes accountable.
June 21, 2022
Consumer Voice Executive Director Lori Smetanka participated in a discussion on nursing home reform, enforcement and residents’ rights.
June 15, 2022
In this podcast episode we are talking with Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics, and Beverley Laubert, the National Ombudsman Program Coordinator at the Administration for Community Living about abuse of those living in long-term care facilities – an issue that affects thousands of residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care settings.
June 15, 2022
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) serves as a call-to-action for our communities to raise awareness about abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elders, and reaffirm our commitment to the principle of justice for all.
May 26, 2022
Get our detailed model responses to submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes.
May 24, 2022
Using our quick suggested response it only takes a couple of minutes to make your voice heard!
May 24, 2022
Research has shown that staffing in nursing homes - numbers of staff, skills mix, and training - are critical indicators of quality care and positive resident outcomes. Yet too many nursing homes are understaffed, and the long-term care industry claims it does not have the resources to hire more staff. But is that really true?
May 17, 2022
A new fact sheet, “Difficult” is Not a Diagnosis: What to Do When Your Loved One is Being Pushed to Take Antipsychotic Drugs, is now available for advocates and family members.
May 12, 2022
In this episode, we continue our conversation with long-term care residents about the most significant nursing home reforms announced in decades. We speak with two residents to discuss the problems they face in their day-to-day lives from inadequate staffing, the ways nursing home ownership has impacted their lives throughout the pandemic, as well as what can be done to improve their lives in long-term care.
April 28, 2022
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making that included requests for information regarding the implementation of a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes and input on measuring health disparities in resident outcomes.
April 27, 2022
Consumer Voice needs your support more than ever to ensure that recently announced nursing home reforms become reality for nursing home residents across the country.
April 26, 2022
The Superior Court of California issued a declaratory judgment that under federal law, a nursing facility cannot refuse to readmit a resident who has been cleared by the hospital to return to their facility.
April 14, 2022
On April 7, 2022 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memo rescinding several temporary emergency waivers issued in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency with the intent to provide health care providers with extra flexibility in responding to the pandemic.
April 13, 2022
Consumer Voice’s new report looks at federal data regarding nursing home staffing levels and how it affects outcomes for residents.
April 12, 2022
The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff, a report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), includes recommendations that strongly support the Biden Administration’s historic nursing home reforms.
April 05, 2022
In this episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, we take a deeper look at the Biden Administration’s nursing home reforms, announced on February 28, 2022. These reforms include the most significant improvements to nursing homes in decades.
March 28, 2022
We need you to contact your Congress members and tell them to take action to support the Biden Administration reforms and also to ensure the important nursing home provisions in the BBB Act are included in any upcoming economic legislation.
March 25, 2022
In this episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, we speak directly with two long-term care residents, in Texas and Ohio, about the importance of these reforms, the problems they face in their day to day lives from inadequate and untrained staff, and what other improvements they would like to see that would help improve their lives in long-term care.
March 22, 2022
Consumer Voice’s new report, Using the Five-Star Quality Measure to Mask Bad Care, looks at how Quality Measures on CMS’ Care Compare, which are largely self-reported by nursing homes, can obscure poor ratings in the other categories of staffing and health inspections.
March 16, 2022
Read our summary of the wide-ranging reforms aimed at improving the quality of nursing home care for residents recently announced by the Biden-Harris Administration.
March 15, 2022
On March, 10, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its nursing home guidance on visitation and quarantine and also updated its guidance on testing.
March 14, 2022
Letters are still one of the most widely read sections of the local news, and a great way to get your voice heard by members of your community and elected leaders on key issues.
March 08, 2022
Join us in thanking President Biden for standing with nursing home residents and introducing these monumental nursing home reforms.
March 01, 2022
Consumer Voice’s new report, Inadequate Staffing During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Catastrophic Effects on Nursing Homes Residents, looks at federal data regarding nursing home residents and documents the true price of inadequate staffing.
February 28, 2022
The Biden Administration announced it would be implementing a variety of nursing home reforms, including the creation of a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes, accountability for poor performing nursing homes, increased transparency around ownership and finances, and support for direct care staff.
February 18, 2022
Consumer Voice is calling on states and the federal government to act now to better protect residents of nursing homes by requiring minimum staffing requirements and accountability for the spending of public money.
February 15, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is now posting data on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots administered to nursing home residents and staff on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website.
February 11, 2022
In this episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, we talk about neglect, which is the failure to provide goods and services to an individual that are necessary to avoid physical harm, pain, mental anguish, or emotional distress, with Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Neglect may or may not be intentional.
February 07, 2022
Consumer Voice Executive Director Lori Smetanka wrote an article for American Society on Aging’s Generations on the staffing crisis in long-term care facilities and how it affects residents.
February 03, 2022
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have made updates to their COVID-19 guidance regarding nursing home visitation, definitions of vaccination status, and more.
January 27, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the latest list of Special Focus Facilities (SFF) and candidates. CMS oversees the SFF program, which places special scrutiny on select nursing homes with a documented pattern of providing poor care.
January 27, 2022
Beginning January 26, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is posting new information on the Care Compare website that will help consumers have a better understanding of certain staffing information and concerns at facilities.
January 25, 2022
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report, CMS Should Take Further Action to Address States with Poor Performance in Conducting Nursing Home Surveys, detailing problems with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ oversight of state survey agencies.
January 19, 2022
Over the past several years, private equity firm ownership of nursing homes has drawn significant attention. Visit our new webpage to learn more about private equity and how it affects nursing home residents.
January 14, 2022
Read our update regarding how federal and state rules affect visiting nursing homes.
January 07, 2022
On January 6, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) released on December 23rd, 2021, which clarify their updated Nursing Home Visitation Guidance from November.
January 04, 2022
Share your experiences visiting a loved one in a nursing home since the new CMS visitation guidance on November 12, 2021.
January 04, 2022
Consumer Voice, with other advocates, sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure regarding removing restrictions on visitation in nursing homes.
January 03, 2022
On December 28, 2021 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance and survey procedures to ensure compliance with nursing home staff vaccination requirements.
December 10, 2021
In this episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, Jocelyn Bogdan from Consumer Voice goes through the updated guidance and talks about what rights residents of nursing homes have.
December 08, 2021
Consumer Voice and 79 national and state advocacy organizations sent a letter urging Senate leadership to include important provisions for increased protections for nursing home residents in the Build Back Better Act.
December 07, 2021
A new report by Consumer Voice documents staffing standards in each state, analyzing the contrast to research-based standards recommended by medical and healthcare professionals to ensure quality of care.
November 23, 2021
Together, we can pursue and promote policies that support residents, caregivers, and staff; improve transparency and accountability for public funds; and upend the long-term care system to be more consumer centered.
November 19, 2021
The United States House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act which includes the most significant increase in protections for nursing home residents in decades.
November 18, 2021
Read our summary of the main takeaways in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service’s recently updated Nursing Home Visitation Guidance.
November 17, 2021
Congress needs to hear directly from residents, families and their advocates that the staffing provisions must be included because adequate staffing is the key to safety and quality of care.
November 16, 2021
The guidance relaxes requirements regarding infection control surveys, clarifies timing on annual recertification surveys, addresses the complaint backlog, and announces increased survey scrutiny in particular areas of care quality.
November 16, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the latest list of Special Focus Facilities (SFF) and candidates (October 27, 2021). CMS oversees the SFF program, which places special scrutiny on select nursing homes with a documented pattern of providing poor care.
November 15, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have updated their nursing home visitation guidance to now allow visitation at all times for all residents.
November 09, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an emergency regulation requiring long term care facilities to develop and implement policies to ensure all staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
November 05, 2021
A provision to require at least one registered nurse 24 hours a day has been added to the four critical provisions included in the most recent version of the Build Back Better Act. Contact your members of Congress to ensure all provisions will be included.
October 29, 2021
Congress has heard your voice! Important nursing home provisions were included in the most recent version of the Build Back Better Act. However, the inclusion of the provisions in the final bill is not ensured.
October 29, 2021
Consumer Voice sent a letter asking Congressional leaders to ensure that protections for nursing home residents continue to be included in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill.
October 21, 2021
Contact Your Congressmembers and Tell Them to Support Protections for Nursing Home Residents
October 19, 2021
In this episode of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast, we are sharing with you a discussion that was held on Facebook Live around residents’ rights in nursing homes.
October 19, 2021
Consumer Voice Executive Director Lori Smetanka wrote an article for American Society on Aging’s Generations publication highlighting the spike in misuse of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes.
October 18, 2021
The October 2021 issue of the Resident Advocate Newsletter is now available.
October 13, 2021
Consumer Voice and 68 national and state organizations sent a letter to House leadership urging them to retain critical protections for nursing home residents in the Budget Reconciliation bill.
October 12, 2021
NORC and Consumer Voice published new consumer education materials regarding nursing home residents’ rights.
September 21, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today a new feature on Medicare Care Compare that will make it easier to check COVID-19 vaccination rates for nursing home staff and residents.
September 09, 2021
Reach out to your Representatives to tell them to support nursing home provisions and Elder Justice Act provisions in the current budget and reconciliation package.
September 01, 2021
Consumer Voice submitted comments to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) in support of the proposed regulations mandating a minimum staffing standard of 4.1 hours of resident care per day.