Casey and Fetterman back proposed nursing home staffing rules as Pa. industry objects

Casey and Fetterman back proposed nursing home staffing rules as Pa. industry objects

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

November 30, 2023

The federal government has proposed new staffing rules for nursing homes—including requiring registered nurses to be on site 24 hours a day—a proposal that has drawn the support of Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators but opposition from the state’s nursing home industry. ... While U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, D-Pa., endorsed the proposal, more than two dozen other senators—both Democrats and Republicans—said it would hurt facilities in rural areas. And Pennsylvania’s nursing home association said the proposed rule would exacerbate a shortage of trained health care workers. ... Mr. Casey and Mr. Fetterman joined 12 of their Democratic colleagues earlier this month to urge HHS to move ahead with the rule. Mr Casey chairs the Senate Aging Committee. ... Still, more than twice as many senators—28—signed a letter to [CMS Administrator] Ms. [Chiquita] Brooks-LaSure opposing the rule. ... Also in opposition was the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, the trade group for the state’s nursing homes. Mr. Casey and Fetterman are “clearly out of touch with the realities facing health care in Pennsylvania,” said Zach Shamberg, the association’s president and CEO.