As the COVID-19 death toll continued to mount disproportionately among nursing home residents in mid-April, federal regulators issued historic infection and death reporting requirements.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandated that nursing homes detail all COVID-19 cases directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with residents and families. The fine for failing to do so within 12 hours of learning about them will be “at least” $1,000 per week, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said. An initial grace period to test the system was to start around the final week of April.
The COVID-19 rates would be posted publicly, she added. Previously, providers only had to report cases to local health authorities.
The orders came as providers faced increasing criticism for failing to notify residents and families about the COVID-19 situation in their buildings. Total deaths at long-term care facilities — including nursing homes and assisted living facilities — reached 5,670 as of mid-April, according to NBC News, which compiled data from states that made it available.
