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Update on Federal Legislation on CMS Staffing Minimum Proposal

Legislation to block the federal minimum staffing proposal for nursing homes passed in the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee yesterday. The Protecting America's Seniors' Access to Care Act (H.R. 7513) was first introduced by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and would prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from finalizing the proposal.
There's also a companion bill in the Senate. This bill was co-sponsored by our very own Senator King and Senator Collins. AHCA/NCAL led a coalition of more than 1,000 organizations urging support of the legislation. MHCA helped with this effort and special thanks to all members who signed onto this letter. 
 
Last week, Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a study on the risks of the proposed rule issued by CMS. Maine in particular has seen widespread nursing home closures. In the last 10 years, 23 facilities have permanently shut down, and another closure was announced just this week. Senator King said in a statement on the bill:

“It is one thing to create a policy tha?t looks good on paper, but it is quite another to examine the effects that policy has on the day-to-day lives of Maine veterans … While the CMS rule aims to improve the quality of long-term care for veterans by increasing staffing requirements, this one-size-fits-most policy could cause facilities in rural areas to shut down. This bill will allow us to take a closer look at the impact that the proposed CMS rule would have on VA and VA affiliated nursing homes so we can best protect access to long-term care options for veterans in Maine."

Read what Members of Congress, policy experts and long term care advocates are saying in opposition to the federal staffing mandate HERE.
 
Staff contact: awesthoff@mehca.org

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