Congress to CMS: Build Staffing Mandate into 2024 Medicare Payment Rule

Democratic lawmakers this week penned a letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure workers aren’t overburdened with high caseloads and inadequate support.

The legislators, led by U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.), also called on CMS to establish robust nursing home staffing standards to ensure residents receive comprehensive, quality care, according to a statement issued by Rep. Schakowsky’s office.

“It has been one year since President Biden’s State of the Union announcement concerning this study and over 20 years since CMS’s last review,” members wrote in the letter. “Meanwhile, many nursing home residents and workers have suffered from insufficient staffing. It is imperative that CMS finalize robust requirements this year.”