- Rule comes amid labor shortages, uptick in payment defaults
- High death rates during Covid highlighted need for better care
A proposed federal rule that would establish staffing requirements at nursing homes across the US could push the already-troubled sector further into distress, even as the pandemic highlighted their failings.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said that “chronic under-staffing remains a concern,” in a Sept. 1 statement outlining the proposed rule, which includes requiring a registered nurse onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week. About 75% of US facilities would need to make adjustments under the new rule, CMS said. Nursing homes could receive a hardship extension “in limited circumstances.”
Labor shortages and their associated costs still plague nursing homes, which in some cases have eliminated beds because of an absence of caretakers. That’s also created a problem for hospitals, which rely on the homes to take patients who need rehabilitation services when they’re ready for discharge.
Bloomberg
By Lauren Coleman-Lochner
September 8, 2023