PBJ Update: CMS Memo Announces Data Submissions Go Public Nov. 1

Beginning Nov. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid will post public files of providers’ Payroll-Based Journal data to provide “transparency” to LTC facilities, stakeholders and the general public.

The posting will show each facility’s total number of hours submitted for nursing services job categories (RNs, LPNs and nurse aides) and the daily census for each day in the quarter.

The first posting will include data submitted by facilities for the first two quarterly deadlines of 2017, May 15 and Aug. 14. Data submitted after these deadlines will not be posted and CMS will continue to post the following quarters’ data as it become available. The information will be available here: https://data.cms.gov.

Other Reminders & Future Items

• The memo also states that the Nursing Home Compare website will continue to make visible whether providers have submitted data by the required deadline – and more specifically, if providers have submitted, complete, incomplete or inaccurate data. Remember, failure to submit data by the required deadline will result in suppression of their overall and staffing star ratings on the website.
• In the future, CMS intends to report tenure and turnover rates using each employee’s unique identifier (ID). CMS will provide a way for facilities to link an employee’s old and new ID if it changes due to, for example, switching payroll vendors. This will facilitate accurate reporting.
• Submitting resident census data is optional. CMS will use minimum data set (MDS) data to calculate daily resident census for each facility to determine staffing levels. The hope is to eliminate “the burden associated with reporting resident census information through the PBJ system.”

Click here to read the full memo. 

It remains quite clear that CMS will continue to strictly implement all facets of the PBJ staffing data reporting. Providers need to be diligent in reporting all hours for all required positions within the 45-day period following the completion of each quarter.