On July 14th, KFF released “What Share of Nursing Facilities Would Meet Possible New Staffing Requirements,” a report detailing the number of nursing homes in the nation that would meet various staffing requirements. At this point we do not know what CMS is going to propose in terms of staffing ratios, since the CMS proposed staffing standards rule is still under review at OMB. The KFF report offers possible implications of requiring from 2.5 hours to 4.0 hours per resident day. KFF analysts found that nearly all nursing homes could meet a requirement of 2.5 hours or fewer; 85% could meet 3 hours. However, 55% would be able to meet 3.5 and only 29% would meet a requirement of 4.0. The analysts found that 83% of residents nationwide live in a nursing home with staffing levels of at least 3.0 hours. The report’s analysis of ownership status showed that if the level were set higher than 3.0 hours, 94% of nonprofits would be able to meet that level, compared to only 81% of for-profit nursing homes. The difference by tax status changed slightly when adjusted for resident frailty.
