HHS Proposes Minimum Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has put forth a proposed rule aiming to establish comprehensive staffing standards for nursing homes, marking the introduction of national minimum nurse staffing requirements. This initiative stems from President Biden's Action Plan for Nursing Home Reform, initiated during the 2022 State of the Union address. The proposed rule mandates that nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid maintain specific nurse staffing levels to ensure safe and high-quality resident care. These requirements include a minimum of 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse per resident per day and 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide per resident per day. Although the American Hospital Association expresses support for having a skilled workforce, concerns have been raised about hospital-to-nursing-home patient transfers being hindered due to current capacity issues.