Five-Star Staffing Guide for Nursing Homes

This guide is a whitepaper that outlines the Five-Star Staffing Rating system introduced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for nursing homes participating in Medicare or Medicaid. It explains the relationship between staffing levels and quality of resident outcomes, emphasizing that staffing ratings can be adjusted more readily than regulatory ratings. The document details the components of the Five-Star Quality Rating, which includes health inspections, quality measures, and staffing. It also provides information on how the staffing star rating is calculated, including the six staffing measures used by CMS to assign points. Additionally, the guide discusses the importance of accurate Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) reporting and the potential penalties for inaccurate data submissions. It highlights common errors in PBJ reporting and the criteria that can lead to a 'Not Available' status for staffing data on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website.