White House announces new national nursing home staffing minimums
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Vice President Kamala Harris announced an unprecedented rule requiring minimum staffing standards in nursing homes nationwide has been finalized, according to the White House.
In a news release on Monday, the White House said this rule will deliver on a promise from President Joe Biden’s 2022 State of the Union “to crack down on nursing homes that endanger resident safety.”
The finalized staffing standards appear to mirror the 2023 proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It will require any skilled nursing facilities that receives federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to offer 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurses to each resident every day, as well as 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide. It will also require facilities to have a registered nurse onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“When facilities are understaffed, residents may go without basic necessities like baths, trips to the bathroom, and meals – and it is less safe when residents have a medical emergency,” the White House release reads.
Harris made the announcement before a trip to Wisconsin, where she is expected to talk to nursing home employees about their work, according to the Associated Press.
The nursing home industry has been ringing alarm bells about staffing shortages – exacerbated by the pandemic – for years. Leaders in the industry complained the proposed standards would be difficult for facilities to meet.
At the time, CMS estimated approximately 75% of nursing homes would have to strengthen staffing in their facilities in order to meet the new standards.
After Monday’s announcement, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), which represents more than 14,000 nursing homes and other long term care facilities, called the standards “unreasonable.” Its President and CEO Mark Parkinson said in a statement, in part, “Issuing a final rule that demands hundreds of thousands of additional caregivers when there’s a nationwide shortfall of nurses just creates an impossible task for providers. This unfunded mandate doesn’t magically solve the nursing crisis.”
Parkinson also said he was “disappointed and troubled” to see the rule move forward, despite concerns from experts, stakeholders and lawmakers.
Earlier this year, the proposed rule change ignited pushback from a mostly Republican coalition of congressional representatives. U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minnesota, filed HR 7513, a bill intended to thwart the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from finalizing the rules for minimum staffing standards.
At a March hearing of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Fischbach described the proposal as a “one-size-fits-all” mandate that many nursing homes — particularly in rural areas — would not be able to comply with.
“These facilities are already struggling to maintain their staffing levels and have an even harder time finding new staff to fill positions,” she said at the hearing. “But the Biden Administration simply does not understand the problem – which comes as no surprise, since they do not understand rural America.”
US lawmakers fight over how to handle nursing home staffing
Since the White House has announced the rules finalization, it isn’t clear what impact Fischbach’s law would have. Her bill, which was cosponsored by 19 Republicans and one Democrat, remains pending. The bill would need to pass the U.S. House, Senate and be signed by the President Biden to become law, according to congressional records.
KXAN has reached out to Fischbach’s office for comment on the bill.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, has been supportive of implementing staffing standards and even led more than 100 other lawmakers to pen a letter encouraging CMS to strengthen the staffing requirements.
“While much more is needed to ensure sufficient care and resident safety, I am pleased that this represents some hope of better care for vulnerable nursing residents with complex medical needs,” Rep. Doggett said following Monday’s announcement. “I will continue to work with the more than 100 colleagues who joined me in urging stronger requirements to deliver the very best care to our aging and disabled family members.”
Nancy LeaMond, Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer for AARP, called the final rule “long-overdue” and added that it will help protect skilled nursing residents’ “basic rights.”
In her statement, LeaMond said in part, “It is shameful that nursing homes receiving taxpayer dollars through Medicaid and Medicare haven’t been required to provide quality care through specific minimum staffing standards until now. Far too many residents and families have experienced tragic consequences because of poorly staffed facilities.”
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