August 25, 2020
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced sweeping regulatory changes that require nursing homes to test staff and offer testing to residents for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Laboratories and nursing homes using point-of-care testing devices will be required to report diagnostic test results as required by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The new rules also require hospitals to provide COVID-19 cases and related data to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
These new requirements strongly support the Trump Administration’s efforts to boost surveillance of the virus and double down on its commitment to keep nursing home residents safe. The requirements will support federal and state efforts to identify early spread of the virus and allocate personal protective equipment (PPE) and other resources.
“These new rules represent a dramatic acceleration of our efforts to track and control the spread of COVID-19,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Reporting of test results and other data are vitally important tools for controlling the spread of the virus and give providers on the front lines what they need to fight it.”
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