Nursing home advocacy groups and congressional insiders are reportedly exploring the reversal of President Biden’s nursing home staffing rule as a potential budgetary maneuver, according to news reports.
Axios is reporting that there are currently discussions taking place on Capitol Hill regarding reversing the staffing rule in order to help pay for “a year-end health care deal.”
The article highlights a late-June cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for the federal staffing mandate as also driving these talks.
“Reversing the staffing rule would save $22 billion over 10 years, likely more than enough to cover a range of health extenders, though many unknowns remain,” the story notes.
Dismissing the costly staffing mandate could allow funds to be directed to a range of health care endeavors, including those stemming from extending telehealth flexibilities, Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) changes and Medicare hospital outpatient costs.
“It is not clear that Congress will need this offset to pay for [these] items,” the Axios story states. “But if opposition from the PBM and hospital industries makes those policies radioactive, it’s certainly possible that lawmakers would look for other options that are politically more expedient.”
The outcome of the discussions between lawmakers and nursing home associations is contingent upon a scenario where former President Trump regains the White House, Axios noted.
The nursing home industry opposes the rule, which is the subject of a lawsuit filed by industry groups.
Clif Porter, VP of Government Relations at the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) warned of dire consequences for access to care for seniors if the mandate remained.
“We urge members of Congress to take action. We support the passage of bipartisan and bicameral legislation in Congress that will overturn this impossible mandate, as well as finding alternative, meaningful solutions to improve the workforce crisis,” Porter told Skilled Nursing News in an emailed statement.
He drew attention to two pieces of legislation that would block the mandate, namely, The Protecting America’s Seniors’ Access to Care Act and a Congressional Review Act resolution.
“Whether through legislation or direct outreach to the Administration, the concern that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have shown demonstrates that this outrageous and unrealistic rule must be overturned,” Porter said.
The final staffing rule mandates a total nurse staffing standard of 3.48 HPRD, including at least 0.55 HPRD of RN care and 2.45 HPRD of direct nurse aide care. The additional 0.48 HPRD can be met by any combination of nurse staff, including registered nurses (RNs), LPNs, or nurse aides. Furthermore, the rule requires an RN to be onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
