The American Hospital Association and the American Health Care Association sent a joint letter to CMS urging the agency to consider ways to bolster the nursing home workforce instead of implementing federal staffing minimums.
CMS is planning to issue a federal staffing minimum for nursing homes this year, which the associations worry will have a "ripple effect on the entire healthcare system."
"Hospital patients ready to be discharged to post-acute care are waiting days, weeks or even months to find a spot at a skilled nursing facility," they wrote in an April 3 news release.
Rather than staffing mandates, the associations request policymakers focus on investing in recruitment and retention programs. They point to international nurses, apprenticeship programs, loan repayment programs and other options as ways to support workforces at nursing homes.