Nursing home worker helps a resident stand up
Credit: Adene Sanchez/Getty Images Plus

Officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday opened up about the “multi-faceted approach” it’s using to develop and propose minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes next year. 

“This is an incredibly important body of work that we hope to ensure that nursing residents are receiving safe and quality care that they need,” a CMS official said Wednesday while speaking during a nursing home stakeholder call. 

The agency is in the midst of examining ways to set minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes as part of President Joe Biden’s nursing home reform initiatives, and called on providers to give input on the matter when it issued its proposed 2023 Skilled Nursing Facilities Prospective Payment System in mid-April. 

Officials said they received more than 3,000 comments, which are now being used for its upcoming research study on minimum staffing and to develop its draft proposal in 2023. The research study will specifically assess the minimum staffing requirements needed in facilities. 

CMS also plans to host stakeholder listening sessions next month to get more input ahead of its draft proposal. 

“While we are still working on the final methodology for the study, we can say that together the quantitative and qualitative analysis will ensure we have comprehensive research findings to inform our draft proposals on minimum staffing requirements in nursing homes in 2023,” the official said.