Hinds Today

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) have cosponsored bipartisan legislation to overturn a Biden administration nursing home staffing rule, arguing that it sets unreasonable mandates detrimental to nearly all long-term care facilities in Mississippi.

Wicker and Hyde-Smith are original cosponsors of a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res.91), which aims to prevent the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing federal staffing mandates on nursing homes. According to the senators, approximately 99 percent of Mississippi nursing homes already face staff shortages and would struggle to comply with these regulations.

“Mississippi’s nursing home needs do not match the other 49 states,” Wicker stated. “The Biden administration’s decision to impose this unrealistic, unilateral staffing requirement would devastate the quality of care in our rural and underserved communities. I will keep fighting to ensure there is no harm to patient access.”

“There’s no question that nursing home care should be improved, but slapping one-size-fits-all, big-government regulations on small and rural states like Mississippi will only hurt those who rely on these homes. The staffing requirements set by the Biden administration are unachievable for most nursing homes in our state. Any penalties the feds impose on these homes will, in the end, only penalize seniors,” Hyde-Smith added.

The final CMS rule mandates that all nursing homes provide an average of at least 3.48 hours of daily care per resident, including at least 0.55 daily hours from registered nurses (RNs) and 2.45 hours from nurse aides. Additionally, an RN must be on-site 24/7. For an average nursing home with 100 residents, this translates into needing at least two RNs working per day along with 10 or 11 nurse aides.

U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced S.J.Res.91, which has garnered support from 32 Senators as cosponsors. Wicker and Hyde-Smith also signed a letter in 2023 led by Lankford requesting CMS rescind its rule on nursing home staffing requirements.