NTOCC President voices concern regarding the CMS final rule for the minimum staffing mandate regarding long term care and skilled nursing facilities

TAMPA, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, July 24, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Transitions of Care Coalition Issues Statement on CMS Final Rule For Minimum Staffing in Skilled Nursing & Long Term Care Facilities

NTOCC President voices concern regarding the CMS final rule for the minimum staffing mandate regarding long term care and skilled nursing facilities, as it is currently written. The National Transition of Care Coalition (NTOCC), is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to addressing serious issues and concerns related to transitions of care.

As a leading advocate for patient safety and quality of care, NTOCC is voicing its opposition to the recent CMS final rule for the minimum staffing mandate for long term care and skilled nursing facilities.

In September of 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule for minimum staffing in skilled nursing facilities which was finalized on April 22nd 2024.

Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting Final Rule

CMS has finalized its total nurse staffing standard, which requires facilities to provide:

-Total nurse staffing hours: A minimum of 3.48 hours per resident day (HRPD)
-Registered nurse (RN) care: At least 0.55 hours per HRPD
-RN on-site: A registered nurse must be on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
-Medicare payments: At least 80% of Medicare payments must be allocated to staff compensation

CMS states that facilities may use any combination of nurse staff (RN, licensed practical nurse (LPN) and licensed vocational nurse (LVN), or nurse aides) to account for the additional 0.48 HPRD needed to comply with the total nurse staffing standard.

NTOCC President, Jacqueline Vance issued this statement in opposition: “Implementation of the unfunded, one-size-fits-all rule amid a historic and nationwide labor shortage threatens the displacement of nearly 300,000 nursing home residents”.

“This mandate will neither improve care, nor address the workforce crisis. Without workforce development programs or funding, a staffing mandate will not create more caregivers, improve nursing home staffing or assist the post-acute facilities to become more competitive or offer higher-paying jobs”, says Vance.

"The National Transitions of Care Coalition Board of Directors believe that this standard threatens to shut down more nursing homes, and severely limit access to care for our nation’s most vulnerable seniors, leading to unsafe transitions of care."

About the National Transition of Care Coalition
The National Transitions of Care Coalition is a 501(c)(4) dedicated to addressing a serious U.S. healthcare issue: filling the gaps that occur when patients leave one care setting and move to another care setting. These transitions include patients moving from primary care to specialty physicians; moving or transferring patients from the emergency department to intensive care or surgery; or when patients are discharged from the hospital to home, assisted living arrangements, or skilled nursing facilities.

Working in conjunction with Associate Member organizations and over 2,000 individual users and professional subscribers, NTOCC has developed tools and resources made available to everyone in the healthcare industry including providers, payors, patients and consumers.

Val Emmons, VP Communications & Govt. Affairs
National Transitions of Care Coalition
+1 501-712-8686
email us here