LTCCC’s Comments on CMS’s Proposed Changes to Nursing Home Medicare Payments and Quality Reporting

May 13, 2026 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule (CMS-1843-P) that would update Medicare payment rates and quality reporting requirements for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) beginning in Fiscal Year 2027. The Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC) submitted comments urging the agency to strengthen accountability, transparency, and resident protections before increasing Medicare payments to nursing homes. LTCCC emphasized that persistent problems with understaffing, poor quality of care, inaccurate reporting, and weak oversight continue despite years of strong industry profitability and increased public funding.

Our comments call on CMS to ensure that more Medicare dollars are spent directly on resident care, require stronger financial transparency and auditing, and rely on independently verifiable quality data rather than self-reported information that can be manipulated. We also urged CMS to maintain public reporting of COVID-19 vaccination rates, strengthen staffing and professional-service measures, and improve oversight of nursing home quality and safety.

You can read our full comment letter below.