CMS developing minimum staffing requirements

Officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday opened up about the “multi-faceted approach” it’s using to develop and propose minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes next year.

“This is an incredibly important body of work that we hope to ensure that nursing residents are receiving safe and quality care that they need,” a CMS official said Wednesday while speaking during a nursing home stakeholder call.

The agency is in the midst of examining ways to set minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes as part of President Joe Biden’s nursing home reform initiatives, and called on providers to give input on the matter when it issued its proposed 2023 Skilled Nursing Facilities Prospective Payment System in mid-April.