Submitted
Last week State Representative Steven Howe from Salina submitted comments on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Proposed Minimum Staffing Rule.
In September, CMS released a proposed rule on Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities. The rule would require facilities to have a Registered Nurse (RN) on-site 24 hours a day - seven days a week, and meet a staffing ratio of .55 RN hours per resident per day, and meet a staffing ratio of 2.45 Nurse Aide (NA) hours per resident day.
“While the proposed rule may be grounded with good intentions, this "one-size fits-all" proposal is unrealistic, costly and will reduce access to care in my state of Kansas - especially in rural areas,” said Representative Howe.
“First, there is an insufficient nursing workforce pipeline that would allow Kansas nursing homes to successfully achieve the standards outlined in the proposed rule. Second, this proposed rule is too costly. Currently there is not any funding from the federal government set aside to implement these proposed standards. In Kansas, this would be an approximate $58 million dollar unfunded mandate for taxpayers. Lastly, this proposed rule will lead to more closures, more corporate consolidation, and will reduce access to care for Kansans who need care in their communities”, said Representative Howe.
Representative Howe learned about the concerns of this proposed rule through his participation in a regional meeting sponsored by LeadingAge Kansas. LeadingAge Kansas is the state association for not-for-profit and mission-focused aging services. Its 150 member organizations across Kansas include over 100 not-for-profit nursing homes and long-term care units of critical access hospitals.
“LeadingAge Kansas and its members did a tremendous job of explaining this proposed rule to myself and other state legislators through personal small-group discussions. If these rules are implemented as written, I am concerned that it will be the death-nail for many of our long-term care facilities in Kansas,” said Representative Howe.
In his public comments Representative Howe also extended an invitation to representatives from Health & Human Services (HHS) and CMS to visit Kansas to hear first-hand from those working in long-term care facilities.