The next phases of the new federal requirements of participation for long-term care should be delayed in order to make implementation less burdensome and costly, the nation’s largest non-profit provider organization told lawmakers last week.
In comments submitted to Congress on Friday, LeadingAge expressed concerns that the new requirements “remain excessively costly and burdensome for nursing homes,” even with a recent announcement that fines linked to Phase II of the rule will be delayed by one year.
The group submitted their ideas as part of the “Medicare Red Tape Relief Project” announced last month by House officials, led by Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX). Provider input on the project was due by Aug. 25.
In addition to suggestions regarding the final rules of participation, LeadingAge submitted proposals to:
- Make the nursing home survey and certification system more consistent
- Overhaul the 5-Star Quality Rating System
- Eliminate the Medicare three-day stay requirement
- Simplify the hospice notice of election
- Allow 16- and 17-year-old certified nursing assistants to operate patient lifts with appropriate training
- Permanently waive the requirement for fireproofed structural steel members for facilities that are fully sprinklered
The American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living praised the project, with Clifton J. Porter II, the group’s senior vice president for government affairs, telling Bloomberg BNA he hopes it targets regulations “that prioritize paperwork over patients have a stranglehold on nursing centers across the country.”
The next step for the project will be for the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health to hold roundtables with healthcare stakeholders.
Legislation stemming from the project may be introduced as soon as this fall, observers told Bloomberg, although tensions between Congress and the Trump administration may make it harder for those bills to advance.
