March 19, 2020
CMS is delaying the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 v1.18.1 release, which had been scheduled for October 1, 2020, in response to stakeholder concerns. The MDS item sets are used by Nursing Home and Swing Bed providers to collect and submit patient data to CMS. This MDS data informs payment, quality, and the survey process.
In December of 2019, CMS posted a draft of the MDS 3.0 item set v1.18.0 and received feedback from our stakeholders. We would like to thank the stakeholders for sharing their concerns regarding the proposed changes to the MDS 3.0 item sets and more specifically the removal of the Section G items from OBRA assessments.
The MDS changes CMS planned for October 1, 2020 will now be delayed. CMS staff are actively engaged in discussions with various stakeholders, regarding the various changes, the impacts of these changes, as well as, the compressed timeline to educate and train facility staff and update software and IT systems.
Please direct any comments or questions regarding the above information to MDSCodinganswers@cms.hhs.gov mailbox.