Image of male nurse pushing senior woman in a wheelchair in nursing facility

Nursing home representatives are asking members of Congress to put an end to the so-called “quality-based user fee” imposed for nursing home survey revisits.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is currently developing regulations to implement the user fee. President Bush’s 2008 budget plan asks for it to be renewed. Providers lobbied against the user fee last week on Capitol Hill as part of the spring conference of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

The user fee applies to all inspection revisits, except those required for initial certification. CMS plans to set the rates for the fees according to facility type and size as well as the scope and severity of the deficiency citations, according to AAHSA.