Federal Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Requirements Under Consideration
The proposed federal regulations establishing minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes moved to the final stage in the review process on March 1st, while a bill to block the adoption of the regulations moved through the powerful House Ways and Means Committee last week. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) transmitted the proposed regulations, which were published in September 2023, to the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) as a final rule. OIRA has up to 90 days to review the rule, a period that can be extended. OIRA analyzes proposed regulations in order to determine whether the expected benefits justify the costs. This is the last step in the process prior to the publication of the final rule.
At the same time, a bill is advancing in Congress to block the adoption of the proposed regulations. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed H.R. 7513, the Protecting America’s Seniors’ Access to Care Act, by a vote of 26 to 17. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing the federal minimum staffing regulations. LeadingAge National worked with more than 1,000 national, state, and individual organizations to spearhead advocacy in favor of the bill.
LeadingAge NY will apprise members of any developments in the status of the proposed regulations or the bill. More information about the proposed federal staffing regulations is here. LeadingAge NY's comments on the proposed regulations are here.
Contact: Karen Lipson, klipson@leadingageny.org