Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor joined 19 states and 19 provider associations in challenging a Final Rule by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that imposes costly administrative burdens on states and providers and threatens access to long-term care for Alaskans.
The Final Rule replaces current flexible staffing standards for nursing homes with a one-size-fits-all national requirement. Opponents claim it ignores nationwide workforce shortages, existing state standards, and the differing needs of individual facilities.
“This tone-deaf rule will cause harmful administrative and financial burdens for nursing home providers as well as the State,” said Attorney General Taylor. “This threatens the long-term viability of nursing homes that provide care to vulnerable Alaskans.”
The Final Rule also includes an unfunded data reporting mandate that opponents argue will significantly increase the administrative burdens on Medicaid providers and the state.
The complaint states that the staffing requirements would likely result in more than $50 billion in compliance costs for nursing homes nationwide over the next ten years, and the new reporting requirements will cost states $183,851 just in the first year.
“We thank Governor Dunleavy and his administration for pushing back against this shortsighted policy,” said Jared C. Kosin, President & CEO of the Alaska Hospital & Healthcare Association (AHHA). “We agree with the concerns expressed by the attorneys general regarding CMS’s overreach in implementing this staffing mandate and applaud the strong bipartisan opposition to the rule in Congress, including from the Alaska delegation. We will continue to challenge this ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that does not tie to quality outcomes or address workforce challenges and has the potential to threaten access across the continuum of care in communities throughout our state.”