Loss of Nurse Aide Training Program

Under current regulations, a nursing home receiving a certain level ($10,000) of Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) automatically loses its Nurse Aide Training Program for a period of two years. Even if in a subsequent survey the home were in full compliance, the ban on the program remains in place for two years. The ban, introduced in the 1987 Nursing Home Reform Act, has always been seen as excessively punitive and has contributed to significant workforce issues in the homes where it has been implemented.

U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) have introduced the Ensuring Seniors Access to Quality Care Act (S. 2993), which has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill calls for the reinstatement of in-house Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training programs for nursing facilities if the following occur: the facility has corrected the deficiency that caused it to be penalized, the deficiency did not result in an immediate risk to patient safety, and the facility has not received a repeat deficiency related to direct patient harm in the preceding two-year period.

Members wanting to provide input on the bill to LeadingAge National may do so through this link.

Contact: Elliott Frost, efrost@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8832