WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined his colleagues in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn the final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that imposes burdensome federal staffing mandates on long-term care facilities. This rule could force many rural nursing homes to shut their doors due to an inability to meet the staffing mandates.

“The Biden administration’s burdensome staffing requirement would put numerous rural health facilities out of business, depriving many Kansans of access to any health care,” said Sen. Moran. “The administration should be working with Congress to expand access to health care in rural communities rather than adding more regulations that will make it impossible for rural nursing homes to keep operating. Overturning this mandate will support rural nursing homes and make certain they provide quality care and housing to the patients living in them.”

Sen. Moran and 27 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to CMS last year when this rule was first proposed, urging the administration to rescind the rule. The Senators wrote, “We understand the importance of ensuring beneficiaries of federal health care programs have access to safe and high-quality nursing care. In fact, we share your intended goal of improving the quality of care for seniors. However, a one-size-fits-all staffing mandate significantly undermines access to care for patients, particularly in rural communities. Instead, CMS should work with Congress and stakeholders on policy alternatives that address the severe workforce challenges in our states’ underserved areas.”

In May, Sen. Moran introduced the Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act which would increase opportunities for Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and rural hospitals to convert to an REH and make technical improvements to the designation. These changes would help make the conversion to an REH more appealing by giving rural hospitals facing closure access to critical resources from the federal government to remain open.

This resolution was also introduced by Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Joe Manchin (I-W.V.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jon Thune (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

The full resolution can be found here.

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