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1992.12.31 :  Regulation -- Nursing Home Resident Assessments

Contact:  Anne Verano (202) 690-6145
December 31, 1992

       Requirements that nursing homes conduct comprehensive
resident assessments to develop plans of care for individual
residents are defined in a proposed federal regulation.
       "Proper nursing home care begins with a thorough
evaluation of every resident's physical and mental condition and
ability to perform the normal functions of daily living," HHS
Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., said.
       The proposed regulation, published in the Dec. 28 Federal
Register, specifies the responsibilities of the states for
implementing the resident assessment program.
       "We want to be sure that the assessment elements we have
identified are sufficient for planning comprehensive care for
each resident," explained William Toby Jr., acting administrator
of the Health Care Financing Administration, the federal agency
responsible for ensuring that nursing home care meets federal
requirements.
       The proposed rule would require nursing homes to routinely
report resident assessment information to a computerized data
base used by HCFA and the states. 
       Under the law and current requirements, comprehensive
resident assessments must be conducted for new admissions to
nursing homes and updated quarterly. Furthermore, a comprehensive
assessment must be done at least once a year or after a
significant change in a resident's condition.
       Comments may be submitted within 60 days to the Health
Care Financing Administration, Attention: HSQ-180-P, P.O. Box
26676, Baltimore, Md. 21207.  

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Editor's Note:  HCFA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, directs the Medicare and Medicaid programs,
which help pay the medical bills of more than 62 million
Americans.  HCFA's estimated fiscal year 1993 expenditures are
$230 billion, the 12th largest government budget of any kind in
the world.