SNFs operating in states with active staffing mandates should monitor PBJ data accuracy closely, as proposed legislation and emerging agency guidance increasingly tie reimbursement adjustments and financial penalties to staffing reporting.
3 Nursing Home Legal Issues to Watch in 2022 and Beyond
As a flurry of regulations and mandates descend upon the nursing home sector, such changes could create legal obstacles, and suggest yet another difficult and onerous year for providers.
Staffing mandates, the aftermath of the end of the public health emergency (PHE), Covid liability and the PREP Act, all create “existential threats” for skilled nursing operators, at a time when so many are still attempting to recover from the last two and a half years.
— Skilled Nursing News, October 06, 2022
Nursing Home Staffing Regulations, Proposals Clash With Financial, Operational Realities
As the White House considers stricter federal staffing minimum requirements, regulations in some parts of the country are bowing to the realities of the skilled nursing industry’s workforce crisis.
Providers in states from Virginia to New York are pushing back on the requirements they say threaten their ability to provide the best care for residents. The Georgia Health Care Association (GHCA) opposes implementing a “one size fits all” approach to regulating its providers’ staffing levels.
— Skilled Nursing News, July 28, 2022
Why States’ Success in Tying Medicaid to Staffing Could Propel CMS Policy
Given the current staffing climate, with the long-term care workforce down an estimated 15% since the start of the pandemic, any newly developed standard would have to come with a cash infusion. That’s why several states have tied Medicaid reimbursement incentives to staffing quality in recent months.
Unable to sustain unfunded mandates, senior living advocate and policy expert Brian Perry thinks tying increased reimbursement on a state-by-state level is a great “first step” but fixing the problem at the macro level is also needed.
— Skilled Nursing News, July 05, 2022
Nursing Homes Sue Over Minimum Staffing, Mandatory Spending Levels
Nonprofit New York nursing homes are taking action against the state in a push to overturn “illegal and unconstitutional” policies that establish a minimum staffing requirement and spending mandates for providers.
LeadingAge New York, leading a group of 80 nonprofit and public nursing homes, on Monday filed a lawsuit against the state over the two statutes being enacted during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
— McKnight’s Long-Term Care, May 25, 2022
Nursing Homes Pay ‘Exorbitant’ Agency Costs to Comply With Staffing Minimums
The dissonance is especially felt in states like New York, which has the largest Medicaid reimbursement shortfall in the nation, according to Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association (NYSHFA).
“The costs are exorbitant,” Hanse said. “That low reimbursement rate directly impacts the ability of providers to recruit and retain a workforce, or in the absence of that to really seek agency.”
— Skilled Nursing News, April 24, 2022
As state and federal policymakers clamor to set nursing home minimum staffing standards – most recently in the Biden administration’s expansive reform proposals – leaders in the space are asking a pointed question: Why now?
The industry has already lost nearly 238,000 caregivers in the last two years – an issue that has only been inflamed by the pandemic.
While the nursing home industry has seen modest job growth the last two months, adding 5,400 hires from December 2021 to February, the sector is far behind other health care fields in employment recovery.
— Skilled Nursing News, March 20, 2022
Proposed Nursing Home Staffing Standards ‘Unattainable’ Amid Labor Crisis
Despite continuing nursing home workforce shortages across the country, some states continue to push for mandated minimum staffing hours – Virginia’s legislature was the latest to introduce such proposals, in January.
The bills were heard by the state House Tuesday night and carried over for the year, meaning they are effectively dead for this year’s legislative session.
— Skilled Nursing News, February 08, 2022
U.S. Bill Would Require More Staffing And Curtail Arbitration In Nursing Homes
Nursing homes would face minimum staffing requirements and a prohibition on pre-dispute arbitration agreements, among other significant potential changes included in legislation introduced last week by a group of Democratic senators.
The bill would also explore future possibilities for smaller, more private nursing homes.
— Mondaq, September 21, 2021
