Evan Shulman

Providers who miss staffing data submission deadlines could be sanctioned — and see their Five-Star Nursing Quality Ratings suffer — federal officials said.

Nursing home operators are required to submit Payroll-Based Journal staffing data for the July 1 to Sept. 30 period no later than Nov. 14. Failure to do so could bring serious consequences, officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on a SNF Open Door Forum call.

They added that providers who make an effort will receive leniency, but are serious about receiving the information. 

“We are not expecting data to be perfect,” CMS official Lorelei Chapman said. “However, we do expect all facilities to submit data by the deadline.”