In line with efforts to improve skilled nursing ownership transparency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Monday that it is making additional data publicly available for all Medicare-certified nursing homes.
Licensing officials, state and federal law enforcement, researchers and the public will, for the first time, be able to identify common owners of nursing homes across multiple locations.
Information can be linked to other data sources measuring performance, according to a statement issued by the government agency.
“Researchers, states, regulators and others will be able to use this new data source to learn more about the impacts that nursing home ownership structures have on the care provided to residents,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “We’re taking another major step forward in improving transparency in health care.”
Expanded data will show information about each organizational owner – for example if it’s a holding company or consulting firm. Key identifiers will mark nursing home groups with common ownership or managerial control.
The announcement builds on CMS’ decision in April to release data on mergers, acquisitions, consolidations and changes of ownership for hospitals and nursing homes enrolled in Medicare from 2016 to 2022.
An analysis of data released in April found nursing home changes in ownership was much more common during the timeframe, compared to hospitals.
The decision also comes on the heels of a congressional hearing and accompanying report last week, blasting for-profit ownership structures.
Murky corporate structures, according to the congressional report, helped for-profit nursing home companies obscure profits and avoid legal and regulatory accountability.
Such moves all tie in with the Biden administration’s industry reform initiatives outlined in February.
“President Biden has made clear that we must improve the quality of care in our nation’s nursing homes – and we are taking unprecedented steps to deliver on his call to action,” Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “We are continuing to make more data publicly available than ever before to improve transparency for researchers, regulators, and loved ones.”
Additional data will be available on Care Compare starting Sept. 28, CMS said. The same data is already posted to data.cms.gov and will be updated monthly. The agency will work with consumers to figure out how best to present such information in a user-friendly way.
