Nearly two years since the initial details of its highly anticipated nursing home staffing campaign became public, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 23, 2026, officially launched the Nurses for Nursing Homes program, a $275 million nationwide initiative.

Previously described as the nurse incentive program, the Nurses for Nursing Homes program is one part of the agency’s broader CMS nursing home staffing campaign.

This program, funded through civil monetary penalties collected from providers by CMS and states, will provide financial incentives to new registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) / licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) in exchange for work in eligible nursing homes, identified by CMS through a strategic process that evaluated both geographic location and workforce availability.

“Quality nursing home care and staffing are tightly connected. Having a sufficient supply of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses is vital to our nonprofit and mission-driven members’ ability to serve older adults. We’ve long advocated for federal collaboration and sustained investment in efforts to expand and strengthen the nursing home workforce,” said LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan in a press statement. “The Nurses for Nursing Homes initiative is a welcome development.”

LeadingAge has been working with our state partners to connect eligible member nursing homes with the “Workforce Partners” that will be matching nurses with nursing homes.

More on this program can be found here and in this FAQs document.