Over the last 10 years, there have been limited reforms put in place for nursing homes, but the Biden administration may change that.
Specifically, no reforms have been put in place to deal with the understaffing problems that have exceeded since the Covid-19 pandemic. According to this article on ElderLawAnswers, studies have shown that nursing home staffing levels have been inaccurately reported, which is leading to understaffing issues and high turnover rates. As of right now, there are no minimum staffing levels requirements for nurses or nurse's aides in these care facilities.
The Biden administration has taken note of this issue and is implementing a new proposal to help the understaffing in nursing homes.
This proposal will create the first-ever federal minimum staffing level if passed, making it the most significant reform in decades. The proposal also addresses the concern about the well-being of staff members and residents of these facilities.
The Biden Administration plans on taking on these main actions to help nursing homes everywhere:
- The administration will make sure the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which regulates nursing homes, will ensure there is enough staff at every nursing home to ensure the safety and care for staff and residents.
- There will be a phase in which CMS will determine what multi-occupancy rooms can be changed to single-occupancy rooms, to give residents more security and safety.
- The administration is also putting CMS on the task to increase actions taken against poot-performing faculties and to ensure that the residents are protected at all costs.
- Finally, CMS will create a new database to track owners of nursing homes and the government will investigate private equity firms that buy and sell nursing homes.
These new proposals are a major step for nursing homes and will ensure the safety and protection of not only the residents but the nursing staff as well.