As a part of their continued effort to support rural nursing homes and ensure America’s seniors are receiving the highest quality of long-term care possible, Senators Tester (D-MT) and Lankford (R-OK) led a bipartisan letter signed by 28 members of the Senate demanding the Biden Administration abandon the proposed rule that would increase staffing ratios in rural nursing homes, which could result in facility closures and reductions in access to care across the country.
The letter to CMS Administrator Brooks-LaSure said, in part: “In many parts of the country, America’s long-term care facilities are facing severe workforce shortage issues that are harming access to critical care for our nation’s seniors. With this in mind, we are deeply concerned that now is the worst possible time for the United States to establish the nation’s first federal staffing mandate for long-term care facilities. We urge you to rescind CMS’s proposed rule and instead commit to working with Congress on a large number of alternative approaches to ensure the quality and safety of care in skilled nursing facilities.”
Senator Tester is dedicated to preserving access to long-term care and has long advocated for realistic policy that can support care, particularly in rural America. In June 2023, he sent two letters to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to express concerns about the Administration’s intent to issue staffing mandates for nursing homes. Senator Tester sent an additional letter to CMS urging the agency to reconsider a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities that would have resulted in a $320 million overall decrease in payments to long term care facilities.
Check out the bipartisan Senate letter. If your Senator signed on, contact their office, and thank them for their support and commitment to this issue.
