Reviewing the Rule: Unpacking CMS's Minimum Staffing Standard

On Monday, April 23, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the final rule implementing a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes. The Biden Administration’s announcement contained few surprises. The rule will require a total minimum staffing standard of 3.48 hours of care per resident per day (HPRD), composed of at least .55 RN HPRD and 2.45 HPRD. In addition, facilities will now be required to have a Registered Nurse onsite twenty-four hours per day. However, the rule contains long implementation periods, some residents of rural facilities will not feel the effects of the rule for over five years, and waiver provisions that will likely allow many nursing homes to avoid compliance. In addition, the rule contains updated language on facility assessments.
This webinar gave an in-depth review and discussion of the new staffing rule, featuring Sam Brooks, Director of Public Policy at Consumer Voice, and special guests Richard Mollot, Executive Director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition and Toby Edelman, Senior Policy Attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy.