Deb Fischer: “across the country, over 1.2 million Americans live in nursing homes. Many of our own parents, grandparents, and other…”

“across the country, over 1.2 million Americans live in nursing homes. Many of our own parents, grandparents, and other loved ones are among them. Nursing facilities provide specialized attentive care to seniors in critical need of their services. Long-term care facilities are especially indispensable in small towns and rural areas like much of my home State of Nebraska. In those areas, a larger percentage of the population is over 65. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has released a rule this fall that could force many nursing facilities around the country to close their doors. The new rule, introduced in September by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, mandates new minimum staffing standards for long-term care facilities. It requires each facility to staff a registered nurse on site 24/7 and would require staff to provide each resident with at least 3 hours of direct care per day. The administration believes this rule would improve the quality of care in our nursing homes. Unfortunately, the rule, as written, would simply force many facilities to shut down, denying care to seniors entirely. According to CMS, 75 percent of nursing homes would have to increase staffing to comply with these proposed standards, but across our country, these homes already face historic staffing shortages. According to Federal labor statistics, nursing homes lost more than 200,000 workers from February of 2020 to December of 2022.…”