The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced it is increasing the civil penalties for nursing homes that fail to comply with infection control requirements.

The federal agency stated it was enhancing enforcement for facilities with persistent infection control violations and imposing enforcement actions on lower level infection control deficiencies to help ensure they are addressed with greater urgency.

CMS also announced it has implemented a new COVID-19 reporting requirement for nursing homes. Furthermore, the agency is partnering with CDC's federal disease surveillance system to quickly identify problem areas and inform future infection control actions.

The announcement from CMS included several other developments, including the tying of some Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to state completion of focused infection control nursing home surveys, requiring states to implement revised and expanded survey activities, and refocusing the approach of quality improvement organizations (QIO) to assist in combating COVID-19 within nursing homes.

These changes took effect when they were issued on June 1.

The announcement from CMS comes following the release of U.S. government data showing that nearly 26,000 nursing home residents have died from COVID-19 and more than 60,000 have fallen ill.