HCAM Signs Letter to Halt Proposed Nursing Facility Staffing Mandate

HCAM signed onto a letter of support for the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act (S. 3410/H.R. 5796), which is federal legislation that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from finalizing the proposed nursing facility staffing mandate.

As you know, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a proposed rule that sets minimum staffing requirements in skilled nursing facilities. Implementation of the unfunded, one-size-fits-all rule amid our labor shortage threatens the displacement of nearly 300,000 nursing home residents nationwide. This mandate will neither improve care nor address the workforce crisis.

Since the mandate was announced, there has been a growing consensus among members of Congress, long-term care advocates and health care experts that the proposal will hurt our most vulnerable and that the Biden Administration should reconsider its implementation. The Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act was introduced in December to stop the proposed mandate. It’s expected that and the House Ways and Means Committee will consider the act, with the hopes of advancing it. We hope the letter will be a strong show of support for stopping finalization of the proposed staffing rule.