Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting (CMS 3442-P)

On September 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to establish staffing requirements, including national minimum nurse staffing standards, for nursing facilities. Nursing facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid would be required to: provide residents with a minimum of 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse (RN) per resident per day (hours per resident day or HPRD) and 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide (NA) per resident per day; have a registered nurse onsite 24 hours per day, seven days per week to provide direct resident care; and complete facility assessments on staffing needs. CMS proposes that implementation of the final requirements will occur in three phases over a three-year...