The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially repealed most of the provisions of the federal nursing home staffing mandate.
Facility assessment and Medicaid transparency provisions remain, however. Leaders in the sector maintain that these assessments, while meant to ensure appropriate staff support, are not meaningful in terms of improving resident care.
Remnants of the staffing mandate create additional paperwork, overlapping with other required documentation tied to staffing plans, resident care policies and quality assurance activities.
“HHS takes this action after determining the final rule imposed by the Biden Administration disproportionately burdened facilities, especially those serving rural and Tribal communities, and jeopardized patient’s access to care,” the department stated in a Dec. 2 announcement.
This action has been anticipated, as a repeal of the staffing mandate has been under consideration at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“Safe, high-quality care is essential, but rigid, one-size-fits-all mandates fail patients,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. stated in Tuesday’s announcement. “This Administration will safeguard access to care by removing federal barriers—not by imposing requirements that limit patient choice.”
Clif Porter, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), said the agency’s move to rescind the mandate “once and for all” is a victory for patients and their families.
“This unrealistic regulation threatened to close nursing homes and displace vulnerable residents,” Porter said in a statement. “Again and again, we appreciate the leadership shown by Congress, the courts, and now CMS to uphold the rule of law and balance of powers, while also reaffirming the right decision: to prioritize protecting access to care for our aging population.”
Now, the association will work to build up the nursing home workforce.
“We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to pursue more common-sense and supportive workforce solutions,” added Porter.
LeadingAge CEO Katie Smith Sloan had a similar message: while the repeal is an important milestone in ongoing efforts to ensure quality care in nursing homes, this is no time for rest.
“We urge Congress and the administration to invest in building and sustaining the long-term care workforce by funding recruitment, training, and retention initiatives, addressing reimbursement shortfalls, and creating pathways for new caregivers to enter the field, including through long-overdue immigration reform,” Smith Sloan said in a statement.
Still, the repeal of the mandate represents a “much-needed recognition” of barriers when it comes to recruiting and retaining nursing home staff, she added.
The announcement emphasized the concerns of Tribal communities regarding to their inability to meet the minimum nursing care hours of the mandate, given workforce shortages.
“The Oneida Nation appreciates Secretary Kennedy for recognizing the unique staffing challenges in tribal communities and rescinding a rule that would have severely limited our ability to care for our elders,” said Chairman Tehassi Hill of the Oneida Nation.
(SNN Senior Reporter Amy Stulick contributed to this story.)
