New nursing home rules spark concerns around Tri-State over staffing, costs

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - New federal rules for nursing homes are expected to shake up the industry.

The Biden Administration just announced new regulations that’ll impact staffing within two to three years.

A Local 12 investigation found that the move will have unintended consequences. A nursing home is a place for connection and care. Residents rely on staff to meet their daily needs.

“She was an LPN. Then, she became an RN, and now she’s our director of nursing. A total success story.” Tim McGowan, President of Maple Knoll Communities.

“The only difference is the title. We all care for these patients, and care for them in the same way,” said Jazmine Bell, Director of Nursing.

But a nurse’s title is the focus of the new staffing rules put out by the Biden Administration on April 23.

“So, for the first time, we are establishing, the first time in the history of our country, we are establishing national minimum staffing standards for federally funded nursing homes,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in a press conference.

Local 12 asked McGowan how things would be impacted if the new rules were implemented today.

“The big thing in the new rules is the mix of staff that has to occur,” said McGowan.

The mix is the number of registered nurses versus an LPN, a licensed practical nurse that will be required. An LPN performs basic nursing care like dressing or bathing a person. They need a certificate and are paid less on average, only being paid around $54,000.

A RN gives medicine, IVs, and needs at least an associate degree or bachelors of science. They’re also paid more, earning about $81,000 a year on average.

“The problem with this mandate is that it takes the licensed professional nurses, who we rely on heavily, it takes them out of the equation for the most part,” said McGowan.

McGowan said that Maple Knoll already meets the new requirement to have a registered nurse available 24/7. But many other facilities will struggle to staff that new position around the clock.

“Is the nursing home going to increase their payroll to account for a RN or are they going to cut back on LPNs and aids so they can have one RN 24/7,” said Linda Kerdolff, Ombudsman Pro Seniors.

Linda Kerdolff is a long-term care ombudsman, a patient advocate who goes into nursing homes across Southwest Ohio. She wants to see hours of care provided to each resident each day at 4.1 hours, which is even higher than the new minimum of 3.8 hours. All of this will cost money.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said that in the first year alone, it’ll cost nursing facilities over seven billion dollars.

“The only place that the money can be recouped is through private pay. So, if your grandma is in a nursing home paying privately for care, her rate is going to have to go way up to what we have to pay to have the RNs in house,” said McGowan.

“An unreasonable standard” is what the new mandates are, according to the American Health Care Association, which represents the nursing home industry. Until it goes into effect, residents will continue to rely on nurses—no matter how many are on staff—for care and comfort each day.

The nursing home industry said it’s going to keep pressing congress to overturn the regulation before it goes into effect. That would happen in 2026 for urban locations and 2027 for rural locations.

The Biden Administration's new rules have the support of some lawmakers. United States Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leading the charge. She’s calling out the nation's largest nursing homes for opposing this while she said they spend millions enriching executives and shareholders.

For more information, click here.