PBJ Data Due May 15th
(May 6, 2025) Nursing homes must finalize their Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) staffing data reporting that encompasses January through March 2025 by May 15th. In addition to informing the Five-Star Quality Rating System, PBJ data are used to monitor compliance with State staffing level requirements. Please double-check your submissions for accuracy and submit with sufficient time to allow for resolution of any technical issues. Note that missing or questionable data increase the likelihood of a PBJ audit. Submissions after the established deadline will not be accepted, regardless of the reason for late submission.
A missing or erroneous report can have a lasting negative impact on a facility’s Five-Star calculation. Providers will receive the minimum number of points for staffing turnover, one of the measures used to determine the stars for the staffing domain, for six quarters if data needed to calculate turnover are missing or deemed inaccurate in a single PBJ submission.
The PBJ Policy Manual, along with related resources including a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), can be downloaded at the bottom of the dedicated Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) PBJ webpage here. Information from CMS describing the various PBJ reports that providers may access, including general and detailed Minimum Data Set (MDS) census reports that should be used to verify that discharged residents are not reflected in the census, is available here. Providers are urged to run and review the various reports (specifically the 1700 Employee Report, 1702D Individual Daily Staffing Report, 1702S Staffing Summary Report, and the MDS Census Report) in time to make any necessary corrections prior to the May 15th deadline.
Technical support is available through the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES), accessible through Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) Support Central. When reaching out for help regarding password issues or rejected files, please be sure to have your CMS Certification Number (CCN) and QIES User ID readily available. When contacting CMS with PBJ submission inquiries, please have your staffing summary report, individual daily staffing report, and/or Submission ID ready to provide to the representative.
CMS recently released the raw staffing data for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2024. An analysis of the NYS information is available here.
Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841