White House OMB Completes Review of Federal Staffing Mandate

As you know, the Biden Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a staffing mandate last fall that would require skilled nursing facilities to provide round-the-clock registered nurse coverage. It also establishes minimum times certified nurse aids (CNAs) and registered nurses (RNs) must spend daily with nursing facility residents. On Monday, April 15, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the rule. That means CMS could now issue the final rule at any time.

Months before CMS proposed the staffing mandate, HCAM and state affiliates across the country started working with the American Health Care Association to advocate against it. That work will continue to stop the most problematic provisions of the rule from being implemented before they take effect. We anticipate that CMS will issue the final rule very soon — stay tuned for a member update at that time.