MDS Consultants

MDS Consultants Get expert, practical help for your facility.

MDS Consultants makes your team more proficient in skilled MDS documentation, ICD-10 coding, Interim Payment Assessments, Medicare regulations, reimbursement maximization and PDPM.

The SNF VBP New Measure Training reviews recently adopted quality measures (QMs), their role in the SNF VBP Program, and...
09/08/2026

The SNF VBP New Measure Training reviews recently adopted quality measures (QMs), their role in the SNF VBP Program, and how these QMs may impact program performance assessment, program scoring, and Medicare payment adjustments.
๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ฒ:
SNF VBP Program overview
Program framework and eligibility
Measures adopted for fiscal year (FY) 2026
Measures adopted for FY 2027 and FY 2028
Scoring methods and payment-adjustment policies
Data periods, such as baseline and performance periods
Confidential feedback reports, review and correction processes, and reconsideration
Public reporting under the program
Additional program resources
This training also highlights key program requirements and resources to support implementation.
The SNF VBP New Measure Training reviews recently adopted quality measures (QMs), their role in the SNF VBP Program, and how these QMs may impact program performance assessment, program scoring, and Medicare payment adjustments.
Topics covered in this training include:
SNF VBP Program overview
Program framework and eligibility
Measures adopted for fiscal year (FY) 2026
Measures adopted for FY 2027 and FY 2028
Scoring methods and payment-adjustment policies
Data periods, such as baseline and performance periods
Confidential feedback reports, review and correction processes, and reconsideration
Public reporting under the program
Additional program resources
This training also highlights key program requirements and resources to support implementation.
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/value-based-programs/value-based-purchasing-snf-vbp-program/snf-vbp-program-training/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral

America was built by hardworking hands and determined hearts. Letโ€™s take today to honor every worker, past and present!
09/07/2026

America was built by hardworking hands and determined hearts. Letโ€™s take today to honor every worker, past and present!

Need a second set of eyes on your MDS process?A focused review can help identify workflow, documentation, coding, reimbu...
09/03/2026

Need a second set of eyes on your MDS process?

A focused review can help identify workflow, documentation, coding, reimbursement, and compliance gaps before they become larger concerns.

MDS Consultants supports skilled nursing facilities with MDS completion, system management, PDPM/CMI review, Triple Check support, audits, care plan alignment, and education.

๐— ๐——๐—ฆ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ!Weโ€™re proud to have Barbara Bates and Linda Winston...
09/02/2026

๐— ๐——๐—ฆ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ!

Weโ€™re proud to have Barbara Bates and Linda Winston sharing their expertise with attendees during:
๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜†: ๐—ž๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—–๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ โ€” ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป

Their session will focus on current regulatory citations and practical strategies facilities can use to strengthen survey readiness and build proactive systems across the interdisciplinary team.

๐Ÿ“… September 23 | 4:45โ€“5:45 PM
๐Ÿ“ LifeSpan Network Annual Conference

Weโ€™re excited to continue bringing real-world education and strategies to long-term care professionals across the country.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training that provides an overview of Chapter...
09/01/2026

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training that provides an overview of Chapter 2 of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI). The course reviews RAI requirements for OBRA and PPS assessments, including assessment types, timing and scheduling requirements, discharge assessment determination, interrupted stay considerations, and combined assessments. https://rainmakerssolutions.com/postacutecaretraining/chapter2/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral/
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/snf-quality-reporting-program/training/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral

09/01/2026

Tuesday Tip ๐Ÿ“‹

๐—ข๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿญ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด. ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜†?

MDS changes donโ€™t just impact the MDS Coordinator. Accurate MDS data starts with the assessments, documentation and teamwork happening every day.
Take the time now to review the changes, look at your processes and make sure your team is prepared.

Want to learn more? Join us for our FREE webinar, Preparing for MDS 2026: Updates and Next Steps, on September 10.

Free and open to the public.

Register: https://cstu.io/75dd39/

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training that provides an overview of the Ski...
08/31/2026

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training that provides an overview of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP), including its purpose, structure, and the ๐—ฆ๐—ก๐—™ ๐—ค๐—ฅ๐—ฃ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ ๐—–๐˜†๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ. It reviews required data collection and submission timelines, reporting requirements, data completion thresholds, and the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Data Validation Process. The course also addresses the Extraordinary Circumstances Exception (ECE) and the reconsideration request https://rainmakerssolutions.com/postacutecaretraining/SNFQRPAPU/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral/
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/snf-quality-reporting-program/training/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral

The Five-Star rating preview reports for nursing homes will be available in iQIES on August 19, 2026. Nursing Home Care ...
08/25/2026

The Five-Star rating preview reports for nursing homes will be available in iQIES on August 19, 2026. Nursing Home Care Compare will update with the August Five-Star data on or around August 26, 2026.

Important Note: The Five-Star Helpline (800-839-9290) will be available August 24-28, 2026. For assistance logging into iQIES, please contact the iQIES Service Center via email (iQIES@cms.https://cstu.io/0b2237) or by phone (800-339-9313).
https://qtso.cms.gov/news-and-updates/notice-five-star-rating-preview-reports-august-2026/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral

The Skilled Nursing Facility Data Validation Process: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) have been updated August 2026. -...
08/24/2026

The Skilled Nursing Facility Data Validation Process: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) have been updated August 2026.
-The SNF data validation process assesses the accuracy of Minimum Data Set (MDS)-based quality measures used in the SNF Value Based Purchasing (VBP) and Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs).
-SNFs are notified of selection through their Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports folder. SNFs are notified once they have been selected for the data validation process. Selection notifications are released in ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ, ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ˆ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ.
-SNFs are required to submit requested medical record documentation to support the validation of up to 10 MDS assessment records. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ 45 ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜งication.
-For the FY2025 performance year/FY2027 program year, noncompliance may result in a 2% reduction of a SNFโ€™s Annual Payment Update for the FY2027 SNF QRP program year in accordance with Section 1888(e)(6)(A) of the Act. For the FY2026 performance year/FY2028 program year, noncompliance may result in a 2% reduction of a SNFโ€™s Annual Payment Update for the FY2028 SNF QRP program year in accordance with Section 1888(e)(6)(A) of the Act.
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/data-validation-process-frequently-asked-questions-08-11-2026-pdf.pdf?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/value-based-programs/value-based-purchasing-snf-vbp-program/data-validation-process/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral

๐—™๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—˜ ๐—ช๐—˜๐—•๐—œ๐—ก๐—”๐—ฅ โ€“ ๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ!October 1 is comingโ€”are you ready for the 2026 MDS updates?Join the MDS Consultants Ed...
08/22/2026

๐—™๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—˜ ๐—ช๐—˜๐—•๐—œ๐—ก๐—”๐—ฅ โ€“ ๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐˜‚๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ!

October 1 is comingโ€”are you ready for the 2026 MDS updates?

Join the MDS Consultants Education Team on September 10 as we break down whatโ€™s changing and what it could mean for facility processes, MDS accuracy, quality measures, and reimbursement.

๐Ÿ“… September 10
๐Ÿ’ป Free & Open to the Public
๐Ÿ”— Register today: https://cstu.io/da2d30/

๐——๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—น ๐—ข๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ!

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