Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the proposed minimum staffing rule. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Nursing Home Reform initiative to ensure safe and quality care in long term care (LTC) facilities, the proposed rule seeks to establish minimum staffing standards for LTC facilities. In addition, this rule proposes to require states to report the percent of Medicaid payments for certain Medicaid-covered institutional services that are spent on compensation for direct care workers and support staff.
The proposed rule includes details around what CMS outlines as a comprehensive staffing approach consisting of the following elements:
- Establishing new minimum nurse staffing standards based on a case-mix adjusted staffing;
- Revising the registered nurse (RN) requirement; and
- Revising the existing facility assessment requirement.
AHCA has compiled a member-only summary highlighting all of the necessary information of which providers need to be aware.
The Association will also be hosting a webinar for all AHCA/NCAL members on Monday, September 11 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern regarding how to contact CMS about the staffing requirements. Assisted living providers are highly encouraged to participate in the webinar and submit comments to CMS. A federal minimum staffing mandate threatens to take away the essential staff on which AL communities depend to provide high quality care for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Please email regulatory@ahca.org with any questions.