Iowa Nursing Homes to Participate in National
Time Study

May 1, 2006

West Des Moines, Iowa – Several Iowa nursing homes will be selected to participate in a national study of how nursing homes allocate their staff time and resources. The results of the study may lead to enhancements in the federal payment systems for post-acute services nationwide.

The study, called STRIVE (Staff Time and Resource Intensity Verification), is funded by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The STRIVE project will provide information needed to update payment systems for Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The study will collect information on how staff time is used in relation to patient health status, medical conditions, services received, and other facility resources used to provide care. This data from a large cross-section of nursing homes around the country will be analyzed.

CMS believes the study results will reflect current practices and update the existing nursing home payment system while using that system to promote high quality care.

CMS currently reimburses Medicare Part A SNF services using a prospective payment system (PPS), which uses the Resource Utilization Groups, version 3 (RUG-III) to determine payment based on patient data. The SNF PPS was introduced in 1998, and was constructed on the basis of staff time measurement studies conducted in 1990, 1995, and 1997.

CMS plans to use the data from the upcoming time study to update payment rates. This study will reflect the most recent care practices and resource needs of nursing homes. CMS will work with state agencies and nursing home associations to make this study a comprehensive examination of both post-acute and long-term care populations. While states determine payment rates for their Medicaid nursing home providers, more than 50 percent of them use a version of the RUG-III system. The states may use the national data to update their payment structures.

The Iowa Foundation for Medical Care, located in West Des Moines, under contract to CMS, will be conducting the study. They will coordinate study sites and data collection across the country beginning in late spring 2006 for completion in spring 2007. After final data analysis, recommendations are expected in late 2007.

IFMC is a leading non-profit company with more than 750 employees dedicated to health care quality improvement, medical information management and care management solutions. Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, IFMC has more than 30 years experience in forming collaborative relationships to improve health care quality, health education and health information management.

Media Contact:
Linda Ruble - (515) 223-2107