PBJ News Topic

Minimum Staffing Roundup

Ideas emerging to help SNFs overcome workforce shortages

October 31, 2023

Our Take: The CMS minimum staffing rule moved through its fall 2023 comment period. Operators, advocates, and analysts shared strategies to increase staffing levels such as increasing the available pool of nursing, lowering…

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Supporters of minimum staffing mandate state their case

October 25, 2023

Our Take: The CMS proposed minimum staffing rule generated an intense national debate during its Fall 2023 comment period, with bipartisan legislative support and patient advocates on one side and industry cost concerns…

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Scrutiny on private equity & REIT staffing compliance

October 20, 2023

Our Take: A series of reports from investment analysts, credit rating agencies, and federal watchdogs examines how the proposed CMS minimum staffing mandate is affecting compliance expectations, investment sentiment, and ownership transparency across…

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Analyses predict high annual cost of staffing mandate

October 10, 2023

Our Take: Multiple independent analyses released in fall 2023 estimate the cost of the proposed nursing home minimum staffing mandate. From CMS’ estimate at $4.1 billion to Leading Age’s $7.1 billion, providers warn…

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High staff turnover linked to decreased quality of care in SNFs

October 9, 2023

Our Take: Two October 2023 JAMA studies show that increases in nursing staff turnover is connected to higher citation counts and lower CMS quality measure scores. The second study associated labor union presence…

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Unions play a role in the minimum staffing push

October 6, 2023

Our Take: Organized labor has been a central force in advancing the Biden administration’s proposed minimum staffing rule for nursing homes. HHS Secretary Becerra publicly credited union pressure for the regulation. The proposal…

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Roundup: Strong pushback to just announced proposed staffing rule

September 30, 2023

Our Take: Following the September 1, 2023 release of CMS’s first-ever proposed federal minimum staffing mandate for nursing homes, skilled nursing providers, financial analysts, and industry advocates responded with near-universal concern. Common issues…

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CLA analysis: Federal nursing home staffing mandate projected to cost $6.8B to $11.7B annually, require more than 100,000 new hires

September 30, 2023

Our Take: CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), on behalf of the American Health Care Association, published a series of cost analyses between July 2022 and September 2023 estimating that compliance with proposed federal minimum staffing requirements…

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AHCA & CLA: High costs to comply with potential minimum staffing rule

September 20, 2023

Our Take: An analysis by CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), commissioned by AHCA, projects that a staffing minimum of 4.1 hours per resident per day will require SNFs to spend over $10 billion more annually. Providers…

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President Biden op-ed claims nursing homes are putting residents at risk

September 1, 2023

Our Take: With the long anticipated announcement of first-of-their-kind minimum staffing rules, the volume is turned up to 10 across the industry. Knowing the strong pushback and intense lobbying to come, President Biden…

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PBJ News Topics

Read about PBJ regulations, research & news impacting SNFs

Most Recent PBJ News

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New York minimum staffing mandate journeys through workforce shortages, enforcement, and legal challenges

April 8, 2026

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Our Take: New York’s 3.5-hour minimum staffing requirement has progressed from contested legislation to active penalty assessment. State…

Democratic bills revive minimum staffing debate

March 30, 2026

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Our Take: CMS repealed the nursing home minimum staffing rule in early 2026 following court defeats. Key provisions…

CMS nursing home funding campaign grows to $200 million

March 16, 2026

Minimum Staffing Roundup

Our Take: CMS has expanded its nursing home staffing campaign from $75 million to $200 million. Proposed with…

PBJ technical specifications changed

March 16, 2026

PBJ Policy & Enforcement

Our Take: CMS made minor updates to the PBJ data specification for uploaded PBJ files. Users can no…

The effects of labor unions on nurse staffing ratios

March 2, 2026

PBJ Research & Analysis

Our Take: A Health Affairs study of 321 newly unionized nursing homes from 2013 to 2021 found that…

Did state staffing mandates add direct care staff or hurt SNF finances?

March 2, 2026

PBJ Research & Analysis

Our Take: A study of 6,849 nursing homes in 22 states found that state minimum staffing mandates raised…

Medical Director compliance under increasing federal and state scrutiny

February 23, 2026

Latest PBJ News

Our Take: Federal regulators and state lawmakers are intensifying scrutiny of SNF medical directors. OIG is actively reviewing…

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