DataPoint: PBJ Staffing Data Insight

(Aug. 5, 2025) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) newly posted Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data for daily nurse staffing during the first quarter of 2025 reveals that NYS showed a slight decline in regional compliance with State-mandated staffing requirements, but a slight improvement in compliance among not-for-profit homes. Section 2895-b of the Public Health Law (PHL) and Department of Health (DOH) regulations at 10 NY Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR) §415.13 require a total of 3.5 hours of nurse staffing per resident per day in nursing homes, of which at least 1.1 hours must be provided by Registered Nurses (RNs) or Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and at least 2.2 hours provided by Aides. Compliance with these thresholds is calculated by tallying the sum of a facility’s RN and LPN hours, Aide hours, and total nursing hours for the observed quarter and dividing it by the sum of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) census for each day in the quarter. Failure to meet any one of the three thresholds on the aggregate results in that facility being deemed non-compliant for that quarter. On a statewide basis for the first quarter of 2025, without regard for sponsorship, 65% of facilities were deemed non-compliant. A deeper delve into the data reveals that 75% of for-profit homes were non-compliant, along with 49% of not-for-profit homes and 23% of public homes. Since LeadingAge NY started tracking compliance in the fourth quarter of 2021, this has been the lowest rate of non-compliance for not-for-profit homes. On a regional basis, six of the seven DOH regions saw a decline in compliance, with the Hudson Valley region remaining stagnant. The Buffalo region has overtaken the Albany region for the highest degree of non-compliance across the state. This quarter’s results represent a slight step back from what has been a slow yet positive improvement in compliance.

The median nursing staff hours per resident day showed a slight decline from the previous quarter, too.

Contact: Eric Dumas, edumas@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8851