VA-Certified Veterans Homes Could Skip Dual Inspection Process 90 Days After Enactment

The State Veterans Homes Inspection Simplification Act aims to cut down on regulatory red tape for State Veterans Homes. Currently, these facilities—which provide long-term care—often have to go through two separate certification processes: one by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and another by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid payments.

This bill says that if a State Veterans Home is certified by the VA, it is automatically “deemed” to meet the quality and safety standards required by Medicare and Medicaid nursing facilities. Think of it like getting your professional license recognized in another state; the work you did in one place now counts in the other. This change kicks in 90 days after the bill becomes law (Sec. 2).

The Administrative Fast Track: What’s the Catch?

While this sounds like a huge administrative win for the homes—saving them time and money on duplicative inspections—it’s not a blank check. The automatic qualification comes with significant requirements for the VA and CMS to coordinate, which is where the rubber meets the road.

For this “deemed” status to stick, the VA must hand over all its inspection documents, survey findings, and corrective action plans to CMS upon request. More importantly, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), who oversees CMS, has to approve the VA’s inspection standards and practices, ensuring they “meet or exceed” the federal protocols for resident care and safety. This joint review of standards must happen at least every two years (Sec. 2).

This means that while the homes get a break, the VA now has a new layer of accountability to CMS. If you’re a facility manager, this is great because you only deal with one set of inspectors. If you’re a resident or family member, the quality of care now hinges entirely on whether the VA’s standards are truly as rigorous as the federal ones—and whether CMS does a thorough job verifying that.

Federal Oversight Isn’t Going Anywhere

Even with the automatic qualification, the federal government keeps its teeth. The bill explicitly states that CMS can still conduct complaint investigations or targeted surveys at any time. They can also impose penalties, including fines or even kicking a home out of the Medicare program entirely (Sec. 2). This is a critical safeguard. If there’s a serious issue, like consistent understaffing or poor infection control, CMS can step in directly, regardless of the VA’s certification status.

Transparency for Everyone Else

Perhaps the biggest win for the public is the transparency requirement. The bill mandates that all survey and certification data from VA inspections must be made public. This data will be posted on the Nursing Home Care Compare website or a similar public platform (Sec. 2).

Currently, if you’re looking for a nursing home for a loved one, you rely heavily on that website to see inspection results, deficiencies, and quality metrics. This legislation ensures that State Veterans Homes—which provide care for our nation’s veterans—are held to the same public reporting standard. It directs HHS and VA to work together to align their data so that this information is consistent and easy for the public to understand (Sec. 3). For families trying to make tough care decisions, having this data front and center is a huge step toward accountability.