Civil Money Penalty: Definition and Healthcare Context
Full name: Civil Money Penalty (CMP) — Medicare/Medicaid Enforcement Remedy
A civil money penalty (CMP) is a monetary sanction imposed by CMS on Medicare- or Medicaid-certified health care facilities — most commonly nursing homes — for violations of federal Requirements of Participation. CMPs are authorized under Section 1819(h) of the Social Security Act for nursing homes and under parallel provisions for other facility types. CMS imposes per-day CMPs for each day a facility remains out of compliance, and per-instance CMPs for discrete violations. Penalty amounts are set by regulation and adjusted annually under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. CMS publishes CMP amounts and dates on Care Compare and in the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program database.
How it’s used
- Fonteum NH Penalty Concentration study: Fonteum's nursing home penalties research documents $459.3M in civil money penalties and 2,513 payment-denial actions across 6,884 facilities over a three-year dataset (May 2023–April 2026), published at /research/nursing-home-penalty-concentration-2026.
- CMS Care Compare (nursing homes): CMP amounts, imposition dates, and payment status are published on Care Compare under each nursing home's Health Inspections record.
- Fonteum NH Penalty Concentration study (payment denials): denial of payment — a companion enforcement remedy frequently combined with CMPs — accounts for 2,513 of the 16,277 enforcement actions in Fonteum's penalty-concentration dataset, published at /research/nursing-home-penalty-concentration-2026.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a civil money penalty in nursing home regulation?
- A civil money penalty (CMP) is a financial sanction CMS imposes on nursing homes for violations of federal care standards. CMPs can be assessed per-day or per-instance depending on the nature of the deficiency.
- How large can nursing home CMPs be?
- Per-day CMP amounts are adjusted annually under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. The current ranges are published by CMS in the State Operations Manual; the highest per-day amounts apply to immediate jeopardy violations.
- What is the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program?
- The CMP Reinvestment Program allows states to direct collected penalty funds toward activities that benefit nursing home residents — such as training programs, equipment, or resident activities.