PBJ “gotchas”

New CMS Rule on Hire Dates
CMS made an impactful change to the PBJ rules in February, making the reporting of employee Hire Dates and Termination Dates optional. CMS also removed the rule on using the same Employee ID more than once in a single PBJ Submission.

These changes are Issues 8 and 9 in the latest PBJ Data Errata on the PBJ site at CMS.gov. ezPBJ has updated our software to reflect these changes.

How to avoid PBJ submission challenges

ezPBJ Sender
To celebrate our first birthday, we are releasing a major time-saver many have requested. ezPBJ Sender eliminates the need to log into CMS multiple times to submit your PBJ report and check CASPER reports.

Changes to PBJ File Submission Rules 
The latest changes on PBJ submission requirements (see below) should make PBJ reporting less burdensome.  We anxiously await future announcements on how PBJ reports translate into Five Star staffing ratings.  Stay tuned!

Risks of Last Minute Submission
With the new Green and Gray staffing icon on Nursing Home Compare, here are several mistakes you can avoid to stay in compliance:

• Avoid last minute heavy traffic and the risk of not getting on the CMS VPN.  If you are having problems accessing QIES, try early in the morning or late in the evening. Note that with ezPBJ Sender, you don’t need to worry about the date or the time – Sender will continuously attempt to access the CMS VPN until successful.
• Remember you get two reports: the Submission Confirmation confirms CMS has received your PBJ submission and the Final Validation Report tells you if CMS accepts your PBJ submission or details the specific errors you need to correct.
• If you report on the last day, you might not get your Final Validation Report until after the deadline.  If your report was rejected – its too late – you are deemed out of compliance.
• If you are using ezPBJ Sender, we will automatically send you an email with your Submission Confirmation information and you can access your reports directly within ezPBJ.