The COVID-19 pandemic forced skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to adopt extensive new reporting obligations under federal regulations. While many of these requirements made sense in the height of the crisis, the continued mandate for monthly reporting of COVID-related data is an outdated burden that no longer serves a meaningful purpose. CMS should retire this requirement to reduce unnecessary administrative costs—both for SNFs and the agency itself—so that providers can focus on direct patient care.
The Burden of Continued COVID Reporting
Currently, SNFs must submit monthly reports detailing:
- Number of employees and physicians who worked
- COVID-positive employees and/or residents
- Flu and RSV vaccination rates
- Positive flu/RSV cases among residents and staff
This data collection can take up to two hours per reporting period, consuming valuable time that should be dedicated to patient care. If a facility fails to meet these reporting requirements, CMS imposes a 2% reduction in its annual payment update.
For newly acquired facilities, this creates an even greater challenge. Incoming operators may be penalized for failures of previous owners—reducing reimbursement for essential services due to a reporting oversight that occurred before their involvement.
Minimal COVID Cases, Yet Maximum Penalties
The continued enforcement of this requirement is difficult to justify. Over the past year, COVID cases in SNFs have been minimal, and most facilities are now well-equipped to handle routine infection control through standard procedures. Additionally, local County Health Departments already require outbreak reporting, making the federal mandate redundant.
The true purpose of CMS’s continued data collection remains unclear. The data does not meaningfully inform patient care or public health measures in the same way it did at the pandemic’s peak. Instead, it appears to function as a compliance trap, with facilities at risk of financial penalties for missing a deadline rather than actual failures in infection control.
The Path Forward
CMS has already scaled back the requirement from weekly to monthly reporting. It’s time to go further. Retiring this outdated rule would:
- Save administrative costs for both SNFs and CMS
- Allow staff to prioritize patient care over paperwork
- Reduce unnecessary penalties that disproportionately impact new operators
- Streamline regulatory focus on current public health priorities
While infection control remains critical in SNFs, regulations must evolve to reflect current realities. The pandemic is no longer an emergency, and policies should reflect that shift. It’s time for CMS to retire COVID-era reporting requirements and let SNFs focus on care, not compliance.
