US Government Mandate Aims to Address Nursing Home Staffing Shortages

There are widespread staffing shortages in nursing homes across the US, with nearly 1.2 million residents living in Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities. In response to this issue, the Biden administration finalized a staffing rule that requires all nursing homes within this group to provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Registered nurses and nurse aides are included under this requirement. In addition, the mandate states that a registered nurse must be on site at all times.

While the rule aims to address the shortages and improve care in nursing homes, there are detractors, including some nursing home operators. According to an analysis released in September by the American Health Care Association, 94% of nursing homes did not meet at least one of the proposed staffing requirements. The analysis also found that nursing homes would need to hire more than 100 000 additional nurses and nurse aides at an annual cost of $6.8 billion to meet the proposed mandate. Another aging service provider, LeadingAge, suggests that policymakers need to address funding and infrastructure issues to appropriately deal with the shortage problem.

Congress is also divided on the approval of the mandate. The House Republicans introduced a bipartisan Senate bill that would prevent the US Department of Health and Human Services from finalizing the staffing rule. However, more than 50 organizations, including labor unions and consumer advocates, wrote a letter to Congress in support of the rule.

The mandate will be phased in over 3 years, and rural communities will have up to 5 years to comply. Facilities that have workforce shortages but demonstrate a good faith effort to hire will be able to apply for temporary exemptions. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a $75 million campaign that will offer nursing homes financial incentives to increase to number of nurses in their facilities.

Reference

Luhby T. Biden administration finalizes controversial minimum staffing mandate at nursing homes. CNN. Updated April 22, 2024. Accessed April 30, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/politics/nursing-home-minimum-staffing-rule/index.html