CMS offers leniency to Kronos users impacted by ransomware attack, ahead of the 2/14/22 PBJ submission deadline.
Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), a software used by SNFs for PBJ submission, was the victim of a ransomware attack on December 11, 2021. CMS announced it will not downgrade affected facilities that miss the February 14, 2022 PBJ submission deadline or submit incomplete information.
Impacted Kronos users need to contact CMS by March 1, 2022 with specific requested information as noted in the CMS memo below.
Facilities should submit full FY 2022 Q1 (October 1- December 31, 2021) data, to the extent available, and must submit data from October 1-December 10, 2021 by March 31, 2022. Facilities will not be penalized for missing data from December 11-December 31, 2021.
CMS will use available data submitted by February 14, 2022 for FY 2022 Q1 to calculate staffing star ratings. If no nursing data is submitted for the quarter, the rating will be displayed as ‘Not Available’ on the Care Compare website beginning with the April 2022 refresh.
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SEE BELOW FOR SOURCE DETAILS (CMS MEMO)
RE: Additional Information for Facilities that use UKG (Kronos) Software regarding February 14th PBJ Submission Deadline
On December 11, 2021, Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), a workforce management software company used by many nursing homes for their Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) submission, was the victim of a ransomware attack. CMS is aware of the attack and the impact on at least some of those facilities that rely on UKG for the staffing data files that they submit quarterly to meet PBJ requirements.
CMS will not penalize (i.e., downgrade) affected facilities that miss the February 14, 2022 PBJ submission deadline or submit incomplete information for that quarter. Facilities that were not affected by the ransomware attack are still required to submit PBJ data on or before the February 14th deadline.
If a facility is a client of UKG and has been affected by the ransomware attack, the facility will need to send the following information to NHStaffing@cms.hhs.gov no later than March 1, 2022:
* Facility Name and Address
* Facility Contact Name and Phone Number
* Facility CMS Certification Number (CCN)
* Kronos Solution ID
All affected facilities should submit the data that is available for FY 2022 Quarter 1 (October 1 – December 31, 2021). If a facility reports this data, to the extent available prior to the February 14th deadline, CMS will utilize this information to calculate the Staffing Star rating. Facilities will not be penalized for any missing data. If a facility is not able to submit any nursing data for the quarter by the February 14th deadline, the facility’s Staffing Star rating will be suppressed for the quarter (displaying ‘Not Available’ on the Care Compare website beginning with the April 2022 refresh).
Furthermore, facilities who do not submit complete staffing data by February 14th should still submit the full FY 2022 Quarter 1 (October 1 – December 31, 2021) data, to the extent available, and must submit data from October 1 through December 10, 2021, by March 31, 2022. Facilities will not be penalized for missing data from December 11 – December 31, 2021. While the FY 2022 Quarter 1 data will not be utilized to update the facility’s Staffing Star rating for the April 2022 refresh, it will be utilized in the future to calculate turnover measures.
Facilities will be expected to submit data for FY 2022 Quarter 2 (January 1 – March 31, 2022) by the May 15, 2022 deadline. CMS will continue to monitor the situation and work with facilities on this issue.
For questions about this issue, please email NHStaffing@cms.hhs.gov.
