Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Members of the GOP Doctors Caucus sent a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, urging the agencies to reconsider the recent costly and harmful proposed rule that would cripple long-term care facilities across the country.

“The Biden Administration’s proposed one-size-fits-all approach to staffing long-term care facilities, especially those in rural areas, is tone deaf to challenges they face,” said Co-Chair Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. “This rule would not only exacerbate existing workforce shortages and financial woes, but concurrently make care less accessible for low-income and rural individuals. Ensuring high quality, affordable care requires a balanced approach and, unfortunately, this rule as proposed misses the mark.”

“There is already a serious shortage of caregivers, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and the Biden Administration’s proposed rule will only make the difficulties staffing long-term care facilities worse,” said Co-Chair Rep. Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M. “Instead of adding crippling costs and burdens to nursing homes, HHS and CMS should focus on ensuring that patients are not denied access to care.”

“A one-size-fits-all approach from the halls of Washington, like the one proposed by the Biden Administration, is tone-deaf to the unique challenges faced by long-term care facilities, especially those in rural areas,” said Co-Chair Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. “By exacerbating existing workforce shortages and financial strains, this proposed rule risks making quality care less attainable for low-income and rural individuals. Achieving high-quality, affordable care necessitates a thoughtful patient-centered approach, the very opposite of what we've seen from the Biden Administration.”

Background:

The Biden Administration recently proposed a nursing home staffing mandate. The rule requires that all Medicare-certified nursing homes have a registered nurse (RN) on site 24/7, provide RN care for at least .55 hours per resident day, and provide nurse aide (NA) care for at least 2.45 hours per resident day. Additionally, the rule requires state Medicaid agencies to report the portion of each facility’s Medicaid payments that a facility spends on compensation for direct care staff and support staff.

CMS estimates this proposal will cost nursing homes $40.6 billion over 10 years to comply. Additionally, CMS estimates that, if the proposal were finalized today, roughly 75 percent of nursing homes would be noncompliant. CMS estimates that 22 percent of facilities would need to hire staff to comply with the 24/7 RN requirement, 36 percent of facilities would need to hire RNs to comply with the second requirement, and 68 percent of facilities would need to hire NAs to comply with the third requirement.