Families choosing a nursing home will eventually lose access to two pieces of information that Medicare has collected since the pandemic: how many staff members at a facility are vaccinated against COVID-19, and how many residents are up to date on the vaccine.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized the removal on July 29 as part of its annual payment rule for skilled nursing facilities. According to the CMS fact sheet, the agency is dropping the COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel measure and the COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date measure, beginning with the fiscal year 2028 reporting cycle.
