Potential staff mandate costs rocket upward when latest wages factored in

The projected costs of meeting a possible nursing home staffing mandate have skyrocketed by $1.3 billion over the last five months, a report issued Thursday by accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen on behalf of the American Health Care Association found.

In July, CLA issued initial projections. The latest report uses updated Payroll Based Journal and Medicare cost report data.. Due to higher labor costs and persistent staff shortages across the US, CLA now estimates more than 191,000 nurses and nurse’s aides are needed at the annual cost of $11.3 billion if nursing homes are to meet a staffing minimum of 4.1 hours per patient day. That’s up from original estimates of 187,000 caregivers and a yearly cost of $10 billion.

 During the pandemic, nursing homes lost more workers than any other healthcare category — over 200,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Skilled nursing providers are the only ones in healthcare still struggled to get back to pre-pandemic levels, despite aggressive hiring campaigns and rising wages.