The proposed federal staffing mandate for nursing homes is drawing more opposition on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Angus King (I-Maine), both members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee (SVAC) sent an opposition letter on Oct. 19 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), expressing concerns that the mandate may adversely affect veterans’ access to essential care services.
In their appeal, the senators called for a more flexible and collaborative approach between CMS and Congress, emphasizing the critical role of these facilities in supporting retired veterans, whose demand for care is projected to increase.
“The Rand Corporation estimated 80 percent of the nation’s 18 million military veterans will have some need for long-term services,” they wrote. “Should this proposed rule move forward, it is imperative that the regulations placed on facilities do not inadvertently lessen aging veterans’ options for care.”
Senators stressed that if enacted, this rule could have far-reaching consequences, with the latest polling data indicating that as many as 80% of nursing facilities nationwide would be unable to meet these proposed minimum requirements, thereby putting their continued operation in jeopardy.
The letter follows a previous letter filed by a bipartisan group of 28 U.S. Senators, urging the Biden Administration to reconsider the staffing mandate for long-term care facilities. The senators expressed their collective concern that the mandate, amid an ongoing workforce crisis, could worsen the challenges faced by these facilities, which are already struggling with staffing shortages.
The group also referenced a recent CMS study that itself found that staffing levels do not necessarily guarantee the quality of care in nursing homes. The senators argued that establishing federal staffing standards might not provide the flexibility needed, particularly for smaller, rural nursing home providers.
“In many parts of the country, America’s long-term care facilities are facing severe workforce shortage issues that are harming access to critical care for our nation’s seniors,” they wrote. “With this in mind, we are deeply concerned that now is the worst possible time for the United States to establish the nation’s first federal staffing mandate for long-term care facilities.”
The senators described the proposed federal staffing mandate as “overly burdensome” and raised concerns that it might lead to additional closures of long-term care facilities and reduced access to care for seniors. They called for CMS to rescind the proposal and instead work with Congress on alternative solutions to improve the quality of care in skilled nursing facilities.
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