CMS plans to release list of 400 troubled nursing homes following Senate report

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Wednesday it would release a list of nearly 400 poorly performing nursing homes that qualified for but have not received heightened federal scrutiny through what the agency calls the Special Focus Facility program.

The move comes after a Senate report this week revealed the federal government had identified far more troubled nursing homes that qualified for the program than it previously disclosed to the public, the Associated Press reported.

During a call with reporters, Kate Goodrich, M.D., director of CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality and chief medical officer, said the agency will be posting the Special Focus Facility candidate list after receiving numerous calls to release it.

"The recent heightened attention to and dialogue around the agency's Special Focus Facilities program is welcome because it has amplified a very important national dialogue on national nursing home quality," Goodrich said. 

She declined to confirm when it would be posted, saying the agency was working to ensure it was in a format that was "understandable," but she said it would be updated monthly once it is posted. She said the agency previously did not release the list because it already made a more comprehensive quality reporting tool available to the public, including star ratings, through its website Nursing Home Compare.

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