U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to travel to Wisconsin on Monday to announce two final rules aimed at improving long-term care access and enhancing the quality of caregiving jobs.
These rules, first introduced in September as part of President Joe Biden‘s initiative to address safety concerns in nursing homes and bolster high-quality care, will be finalized during Harris’s meeting with nursing home workers in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
This visit marks Harris’s third trip to the state this year and underscores the state’s significance as an important political battleground.
The forthcoming rules address longstanding issues of abuse and neglect in the nursing home industry, exacerbated by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the rules mandates federal minimum staffing levels for nursing homes, requiring facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding to maintain staffing levels of 3.48 hours per resident per day.
This requirement aims to ensure adequate staffing ratios, with the goal of preventing incidents of abuse and neglect.
The second rule focuses on improving access to home care services for the 7 million seniors and people with disabilities who rely on such services.
It also aims to enhance the quality of caregiving jobs, particularly those held by women of color. This rule mandates that at least 80% of Medicaid payments for home care services go towards workers’ wages, ensuring fair compensation.
States will be required to increase transparency regarding payment rates for home care services and establish advisory panels comprising beneficiaries, caregivers, and other stakeholders.
