February 29, 2024 Washington, DC — A statement from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including nursing homes, on the joint letter to House Ways and Means Committee leaders, signed by more than a thousand organizations including LeadingAge and many of its state partners and provider members, urging support for the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act (H.R. 5796), introduced by U.S. Representatives Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and Greg Pence (R-IN):

“Ensuring access to quality care for older Americans is paramount, but CMS’ proposed nursing home staffing requirement is simply unfeasible. The financial burden it imposes threatens nursing homes already strained by insufficient Medicaid reimbursement. Our estimates reveal a staggering $7.1B price tag in the first year alone, far beyond CMS projections. Nursing homes cannot bear the burden of those costs alone. What’s more, the mandate would require tens of thousands of additional workers—and there are simply not enough people to hire. 

Rejecting CMS’s unfunded proposal is crucial to safeguarding access to care and preventing further nursing home closures. We applaud Rep. Fischbach and Rep. Pence’s Protecting Rural Seniors Access to Care Act, along with its companion bill in the Senate introduced by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), for addressing these challenges head-on and were happy to support the joint letter.”