CMS Provides Updates on National Guard PBJ Reporting and Kronos Issue

LeadingAge National received updates from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) late last week on two issues we have been closely following: (1) whether National Guard members deployed to some member nursing homes can be captured in Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) reporting; and (2) the Kronos ransomware attack that affected reporting of information to CMS.

Regarding the issue of capturing National Guard members in PBJ:

We have confirmed with CMS that national guard, medical reserve corps, and other emergency staffing support can be counted as staffing and reported through PBJ. In order to report these hours, the nursing home should have a statement from the national guard unit or other group providing the staffing that includes the individuals provided and dates and hours worked. Hours will be coded under the PBJ job code that most closely matches the credentials of the individual and the primary roles performed during hours worked.

Regarding the issue of the Kronos ransomware attack:

CMS sent communication through the iQies system last week to confirm that nursing homes impacted by the Kronos ransomware attack will not be penalized for missing staffing data. Impacted organizations should contact CMS at nhstaffing@cms.hhs.gov by March 1 with the following information:

Name and address of nursing home

Name and phone number of contact person at nursing home

CMS Certification Number (CCN)

Kronos Solution ID

Nursing homes should still submit any available data by the February 14 deadline. Any recovered data after February 14 can be submitted up to March 31. While CMS will not downgrade star ratings for the April 2022 refresh for missing data, data will be used to calculate the turnover measures in the future.

    Contact: Mark Kepner-Clough, mkepner-clough@leadingageny.org, 518-728-2365