Groups Urge CMS to Clarify Nursing Home Visitation
In November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its guidance for nursing home visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic stating that “Visitation is now allowed for all residents at all times.”
On Dec. 17, due to concerns about the Omicron variant, three groups sent a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure about their “concerns regarding the unlimited, unrestricted access of visitation in nursing homes.” The groups are: AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), and LeadingAge.
The letter states that “In light of the ongoing Public Health Emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that facilities should have flexibility to place temporary visitation restrictions in nursing homes to protect resident safety and maintain proper infection control. In addition, this guidance conflicts with guidance of some state and local health departments, which may result in further confusion.”
Further, “As the guidance is written, it appears that a facility is not permitted to place any restriction on visitation, regardless of staffing levels, community positivity rates, or severity of facility outbreak. We are concerned that the absolute, unconditional language may pose a risk to nursing homes and their residents, placing skilled nursing facilities in precarious situations when outbreaks occur.”
The letter concludes by stating that the groups don’t wish to “unnecessarily restrict our residents’ access to their loved ones in nursing homes” but instead wish that CMS will issue further clarification.
The letter is signed by AMDA president Karl E. Steinberg, M.D.; AHCA chief medical officer David Gifford, M.D.; and LeadingAge president and CEO Katie Smith Sloan.
