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The proposed rule, under CMS review at press time, aims to reduce administrative burden and increase flexibility for providers, marking a significant step forward for the anticipated CMS deregulation rule nursing homes stakeholders have been anticipating since early 2025.
What the CMS Deregulation Rule Nursing Homes Would Change
The Cutting Administrative Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care rule was widely expected to reflect responses to a 2025 federal request for information on deregulation. A rule currently under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget promises to “enhance direct patient care by modernizing the Conditions of Participation, Conditions for Coverage, and Requirements for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers and suppliers, reducing burden and increasing flexibility to deliver high quality care.”
CMS’s Stated Rationale for the Rule
According to the OMB entry, “CMS identified obsolete, outdated, and excessively burdensome regulations that can be eliminated or reformed to enhance the effectiveness of facility operations and services and free up resources that healthcare providers could otherwise use to improve patient health and safety.”
How Providers Are Reacting to This CMS Deregulation Rule Nursing Homes Proposal
Providers reacted with cautious optimism to news that the rule could finally drop in August. The nursing home sector’s largest advocacy organizations had asked CMS to consider dozens of rule changes, with LeadingAge and the American Health Care Association both calling for less burdensome surveys and less quality reporting.
AHCA’s Public Statement on the Rule
“It’s time to develop a more rational regulatory approach that drives quality improvement,” said AHCA’s Holly Harmon. This framing positions the advocacy group’s push not simply as reducing oversight, but as restructuring how quality is measured and enforced across skilled nursing facilities.
The Origins of This CMS Deregulation Rule Nursing Homes Effort
In response to CMS’s 2025 request for information, the nursing home sector’s two largest advocacy organizations sent CMS nearly 80 pages of possible rule modifications or removals that would support providers. They also illustrated strategies the agency could use to enact those changes, such as implementing the use of risk-based surveys nationwide through guidance and streamlining extensive quality reporting across multiple programs and platforms.
Signals From CMS Officials Ahead of the Rule
Speaking to stakeholders in May, Will Harris, acting deputy director for the CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, previewed the agency’s direction. “We are looking to reduce burden in ways that can still promote and advance quality and safety in those care settings, specifically in the nation’s nursing homes, and we think that that’s incredibly possible,” he said. “You’re going to see us look for ways that we can be more efficient, to keep everybody more efficient, both in CMS’ work and surveyors’ work and the work at the nursing homes themselves. That’s certainly going to be the focus moving forward.”
What LeadingAge Requested Within This CMS Deregulation Rule Nursing Homes Process
LeadingAge, the largest association of nonprofit providers of post-acute care, submitted comments to HHS in June on home health, hospice, Medicare Advantage, PACE and nursing home regulations, including proposals to streamline reporting and eliminate duplicative requirements. The group outlined recommendations across provider settings that would support the healthcare workforce by providing flexibility in staffing and operations, reduce administrative burden by streamlining reporting and data collection, and give patients better access to care.
Specific Areas Providers Flagged for Reform
Stakeholders requested changes spanning survey processes, documentation requirements, emergency preparedness expectations, infection prevention regulations, and staffing-related rules, reflecting the breadth of the regulatory burden the industry has pushed CMS to address across nearly every operational category.
What This CMS Deregulation Rule Nursing Homes Proposal Means Going Forward
With the rule still under White House OMB review and details on specific proposals remaining sparse, nursing home providers and advocacy groups will need to wait for the formal release to see how closely CMS’s final approach matches the nearly 80 pages of recommendations LeadingAge and AHCA submitted. Given the rule’s multi-sector scope, extending beyond nursing homes to home health, hospice, and other Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers, its ultimate impact could reshape administrative requirements across a substantial portion of the post-acute care industry.
What to Watch Going Forward
As this rule moves from OMB review toward formal publication, industry observers will likely watch whether CMS adopts specific provider recommendations like nationwide risk-based surveys and streamlined quality reporting across platforms, or takes a more measured approach to deregulation. Given resident advocates’ strong pushback against a related 2025 staffing rule repeal, this broader CMS deregulation rule nursing homes effort may draw similar scrutiny from patient safety groups even as provider organizations continue advocating for reduced administrative burden.
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