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Submit Comments on Proposed Revisions to the Federal Nursing Home Regulations

September 04, 2019

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to change the current federal nursing home regulations which the agency had revised and released in October 2016. The existing regulations include important new protections that better promote quality of care, quality of life, and resident rights.

Now CMS wants to modify the regulations yet again – in order to reduce the burden on providers and increase provider flexibility. The proposed requirements would rollback numerous resident protections by eliminating or easing up on specific nursing home responsibilities. The result for residents? Reduced standards for safety, quality care and rights.  

Help protect residents by submitting comments on the proposed regulations! All comments are due to CMS by September 16th, 2019.

Writing your comments

Consumer Voice and Justice in Aging have prepared sample comments for groups/organizations to use as well as individuals.

A few tips:

• Please do what you can to personalize these comments. We have left a place at the beginning of the comment letter for you to indicate who you are or to provide information about your group. In your comments, give examples to illustrate the importance of particular regulations - draw from your experiences/observations. If you need help customizing your letter, contact Robyn Grant at rgrant@theconsumervoice.org.
• You do not have to cover every issue in the proposed regulations or in our sample comment letter. You can choose to address just the ones you believe are most important. If you are a resident or family member, you can write about the issues that affect you/your loved one the most.

Submitting your comments

It’s easy!  You can submit electronically or by mail.  

1. Electronically

   • Go to www.regulations.gov.

   • Type CMS–3347–P into the blue “SEARCH" box at the top of the screen, then click on “SEARCH.”

   • Click on the "Comment Now!" box on the right side of your screen.

   • Complete Step #1 - Enter your information. 

     • Fill in the box that says Comment (Required).  You can:

     • Enter your own comments, or

     • Paste in our sample comments. Click here to access the sample comment letter for groups/organizations.  Click here to access the sample comment letter for individuals. Again, we encourage you to personalize the comments if possible. 

     • If your comments are more than 5000 characters, you will need to put them in a document and attach it by clicking on “Choose Files.”

   • Fill in your name and click on “I want to provide my contact information.”  Note: Only your comments, your state and your country will be visible on Regulations.gov.

   • Click on “Continue.”

   • Check the box to indicate that you’ve read and understand the statement.

   • Hit “Submit Comment.”

2. By mail

   1. Regular mail. You may mail written comments to the following address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS–3347–P, P.O. Box 8010, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. Please allow sufficient time for mailed comments to be received before the close of the comment period.

   2. Express or overnight mail. You may send written comments to the following address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS–3347–P, Mail Stop C4–26–05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850.

It is extremely important for advocates to let CMS know that these rollbacks are harmful to residents. Please take the time to submit comments and forward this message to your family, friends and colleagues.

To learn more about the proposed rule, click here.

Thank you for your advocacy!