Latest Nursing Home Staffing Data Show Slight Improvement

The most recent release of staffing data by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shows that NY nursing homes continued to struggle to comply with State-mandated staffing levels, despite a slight improvement over the past quarter. Based on Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data for the second quarter of 2023, 74 percent of the state’s homes were unable to meet at least one of the specified requirements. This is roughly four percentage points better than the proportion observed for the prior quarter. Among those out of compliance were nearly 50 homes that exceeded the overall requirement of 3.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day, but may face penalties because they did so with a staffing mix that provided residents with more hours of licensed and registered nursing care hours in place of aides.

Regional and sponsorship differences persist in compliance rates: 16 percent of for-profit homes met the requirements, while approximately 44 percent of public and non-profit homes were compliant with all three thresholds. Regionally, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and the Rochester area showed the highest overall regional compliance rates, ranging from 33 to 35 percent. In the Capital Region, only 11 percent of homes met all three requirements, while for NYC that figure was 20 percent.

The legislation requires nursing homes to provide at least 3.5 hours of combined Registered Nurse (RN), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and Aide hours per resident day. Of these, a minimum of 2.2 hours must be provided by Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) and at least 1.1 hours must be provided by RNs or LPNs.

In August 2023, the Department of Health (DOH) distributed the first compliance notices to providers covering the second quarter of 2022. The State received nearly 400 requests for penalty reductions, representing the vast majority of the homes that did not meet the requirements during that quarter. DOH is reviewing those requests and has been requesting additional data from some providers (more information here). As of now, no final penalties have been assessed.

LeadingAge NY has updated a staffing tool that displays daily, facility-specific staffing levels calculated using Quarter 2 2023 PBJ data. The tool calculates daily staffing levels using eligible hours as specified in State law, compares them to the three staffing requirements, and highlights discrepancies. Members can find the download link here.

Contact: Darius Kirstein, dkirstein@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8841