The Biden administration has finalized new nursing home staffing rules that will require thousands of facilities to hire more nurses and aides. The rules aim to address staffing shortages that have been linked to poor care and high rates of preventable harm. However, some patient advocates say the rules do not go far enough to ensure high-quality care. The new rules will require most nursing homes to provide an average of at least 3.48 hours of daily care per resident, including at least 0.55 hours of RN care and 2.45 hours from aides. The rules also mandate that an RN must be on duty at all times in case of a patient crisis on weekends or overnight. Nursing homes in rural areas will have longer to comply with the new staffing requirements. The American Health Care Association, which represents the nursing home industry, has called the regulation “an unreasonable standard” that “creates an impossible task for providers” amid a persistent worker shortage. However, labor unions representing nurses have welcomed the rules, calling them a “long-overdue sea change.” Advocates for nursing home residents have been pressing for higher staffing standards for years, and some say the new rules do not go far enough. A CMS-commissioned study found that the quality of care improved with increases of staff up to a level of 4.1 hours per resident per day — nearly a fifth higher than what CMS will require.
