CMS says final hours requirement still undecided on looming staffing rule

Federal officials are still trying to determine just how many minutes or hours a day it takes for direct care staff to perform tasks key to nursing home quality, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services official said Wednesday.

Jean Moody-Williams, deputy director of the CMS Center for Clinical Standards & Quality, said data related to time requirements “is still being collected and analyzed,” although she described a broader study related to creation of a nursing home staffing minimum as being complete.

The staffing rule study included a literature review, nursing home site visits and qualitative and costs analyses, Moody-Williams reminded the audience. Almost 12 months after federal officials said they would take a year to explore a new possible federal staffing standard, providers are anxiously awaiting the release of a CMS proposal.

“The final report includes recommendations on potential barriers to, and unintended consequences of, implementing recommendations and also some of the cost implications [of a minimum staffing rule],” Moody-Williams said. “We are currently reviewing it to determine what policies will come from that. … We will keep you posted on the progress that we’re making.”