The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee yesterday advanced legislation to bar CMS from finalizing its proposed minimum staffing rule. In advance of this vote, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), Mass Senior Care and 1,100 other organization sent a joint letter to U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith and Ranking Member Richard Neal urging support for the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act which would prohibit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from finalizing its proposed federal staffing mandate for nursing homes. The letter notes that the one-size-fits-all staffing mandate proposed by CMS would require nursing homes to meet arbitrary staffing minimums without any meaningful resources and workforce development programs. Nearly 95% of nursing homes do not meet at least one or more of the three proposed requirements. The letter further notes that implementation of the proposed minimum staffing rule amid a historic and nationwide labor shortage threatens the displacement of nearly 300,000 nursing home residents.