CMS Is Preparing to Slash Nursing Home Red Tape in August. Here’s What’s ‘Obsolete, Outdated, and Excessively Burdensome’.

Washington, D.C. — Nursing homes could be in for a rare regulatory win this summer.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is preparing a proposed deregulation rule that could drop as early as August, and industry groups are already lining up with a long list of what they’d like to see cut. The rule, titled “Cutting Administrative Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care,” is currently under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

In an OMB filing, CMS said the rule would target “obsolete, outdated, and excessively burdensome regulations that can be eliminated or reformed to enhance the effectiveness of facility operations and services.” The goal is to free up resources so providers can spend more time on resident care and less time on paperwork.

What Providers Want Fixed

The American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing, which represents more than 20,000 nurses and professionals, has put standardizing surveyor training at the top of its list. The group argues that inconsistent interpretations of federal regulations create confusion and unnecessary corrective actions.

AAPACN is also pushing for reforms to Medicare medical reviews, modernized requirements for the three-day hospital stay rule, and streamlined consolidated billing. They want less duplicative reporting and more transparency in the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting and Value-Based Purchasing programs.

“We encouraged CMS to modernize regulations that no longer reflect today’s healthcare environment, eliminate duplicative requirements, and simplify overly complex processes so long-term care professionals can spend more time caring for residents and less time navigating paperwork,” Jessie McGill, senior curriculum development specialist at AAPACN, told industry sources.

LeadingAge, the largest association of nonprofit post-acute providers, submitted its own recommendations in June. The group wants streamlined reporting requirements across nursing homes, home health, hospice, and PACE programs.

The Industry’s Reaction

Holly Harmon, senior vice president at the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, called the potential rule a positive step.

“We have submitted detailed recommendations on a better way to make the nursing home oversight system more effective and efficient while upholding accountability and transparency,” Harmon said in a statement. “It’s time to develop a more rational regulatory approach that drives quality improvement.”

The rule stems from a January 2025 executive order on deregulation issued by the Trump administration. CMS issued a request for information earlier this year, and the responses are now shaping the proposed rule.

Not everyone is taking a victory lap just yet. CMS hasn’t shared specifics with stakeholders, and the agency has been quiet about which recommendations will actually make it into the final proposal. AAPACN said it hasn’t received any updates on whether its feedback was incorporated.

The rule’s release would mark the latest in a series of moves to reshape nursing home oversight under the current administration. Earlier this year, CMS rescinded Biden-era minimum staffing requirements, and the agency recently proposed faster enforcement mechanisms for facilities that fall out of compliance.

If the deregulation package follows the typical rulemaking timeline, a public comment period would open after publication, with a final rule likely emerging in late 2026 or early 2027.