Congress has been busy the past few weeks and a number of new healthcare related bills have been introduced, including the following two pieces of legislation that could directly impact nursing homes.
- Put a Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Act
- A new bill introduced on July 31, 2014 would require all nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities that receive Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement to have a direct-care RN on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Current requirements for these facilities only require an RN to be on-site for 8 hours a day, and the RN does not have to provide direct care, so this would be a significant change in staffing requirements. Read more
- Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility Act of 2014 (NOTICE Act)
- In late July, this act was introduced. It would require that hospitals provide formal notice to patients about their admission status. This would help patients who are eligible for Part A benefits to understand more about whether they are under observation status or have been admitted, which would count towards their qualifying stay requirement if skilled nursing care is required. Read more