The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed significant flaws in the healthcare workforce, particularly in nursing homes. In response to this, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have introduced new minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes nationwide. Additionally, CMS has set new pay standards for workers in home- and community-based healthcare services funded by federal Medicaid dollars. These measures aim to improve patient care and enhance the services provided by healthcare aides who support patients with various tasks.
The changes focus on improving long-term care for low-income disabled individuals and the elderly. Through these changes, Medicaid will now allocate more healthcare spending to support workers providing crucial services to patients in need. Jennifer Lav, a senior attorney at the National Health Law Program, remarks that a significant portion of the rates paid by states to providers must now go directly to the workers, rather than administrative overhead.
Nursing homes are also subject to new staffing standards. According to Robin Rudowitz, vice president and director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at KFF, only one in five nursing facilities currently meet these requirements. Employers will have a grace period to adjust and meet the new staffing levels mandated by CMS.
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In conclusion, CMS’s recent measures aim at improving patient care and enhancing long-term care for low-income disabled individuals and elderly people through new minimum staffing requirements and pay standards for workers in home- and community-based healthcare services funded by federal Medicaid dollars. While some nursing homes already meet these requirements, others still have some work ahead of them before they fully comply with them.
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