State Actions on the TNA Waiver

October 10, 2022

State Actions on the TNA Waiver

Home » State Actions on the TNA Waiver

BY Eram Abbasi

Effective June 7, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed the expiration of nursing home flexibilities to hire temporary nurse aides (TNAs) for more than four months without training and certification requirements. On August 29, CMS issued updated guidance indicating the agency would issue statewide, county-wide or individual facility waivers if localized barriers training or testing exist.

Below is a list of states that have indicated their current waiver status. LeadingAge will continue to monitor state action on these waivers and provide updates as they become available.

State	Waiver granted / date	Testing Center/Company
Arizona	TNA waiver extension until the end of the PHE	Headmaster
California	Does not allow TNAs
Colorado	Deadline was extended to Dec. 31, 2022	Credentia
Connecticut	Did not submit a waiver request	Prometric
Florida	Did not submit a waiver request
Illinois	Did not submit a waiver request
Indiana	Did not submit a waiver request	Ivy Tech
Louisiana	Approved October 5, 2022	Prometric
Maryland	General Assembly passed a bill that requires the MD board of nursing to put forth regs that will allow a TNA to apply for certification	Credentia
Massachusetts	Waiver approved last week; state applied for an extension through end of December 2022.	Prometric and D&S (Diversified Technologies).
Michigan	Did not submit a waiver request	Headmaster
Minnesota	Received 10.05.2022. The waiver for Minnesota is valid until April 5, 2023 (180 Days) or the end of the PHE (whichever date comes first).	Headmaster
Nebraska	Did not submit a waiver request
New Hampshire	Did not submit a waiver request	American Red Cross
New York	Extension until the PHE ends	Prometric
New Jersey	Approved October 5, 2022	Headmaster
Ohio	Agency did not pursue. Testing centers in that state reporting no delays in scheduling. OH passed legislation that allowed TNAs to apply on-the-job experience to classroom/clinical time, so testing was the only additional hurdle.
Oklahoma	Waiver request approved and announced October 5, 2022	Headmaster
Pennsylvania	Waiver request approved and announced October 5, 2022	Credentia
Rhode Island	Applied September 6, 2022. CMS approved request on September 22, 2022; valid until Mar. 29, 2023, or until the end of the PHE	Credentia
South Carolina	Requested a waiver but no update on the status	Credentia
Tennessee	Waiver was approved through 04/5/2023 (180 days) or the end of the PHE (whichever date comes first)	Headmaster
Texas	Waiver request approved and announced October 5, 2022	Prometric
Virginia	Did not submit a waiver request	Credentia
Washington state	Waiver approved September 29, 2022; valid until March 29, 2023, or until the end of the PHE	Credentia
Wisconsin	Did not submit a waiver request	Headmaster