LeadingAge Responds to USAToday Nursing Home Staffing Story

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Libbie Chapuran

In response to a USAToday investigative report published on Dec. 1, 2022, examining staffing levels in nursing homes ("Many nursing homes are poorly staffed. How do they get away with it?"), LeadingAge CEO and President Katie Smith Sloan passionately defended the nation's long-term care and skilled nursing operators. She reiterated, "[f]inger pointing and blame helps no one. It's time for a clear-eyed, fact-based approach to ensure older Americans and families can access the quality nursing home care they deserve."

The story published by USAToday is one of several national media stories on nursing home staffing pegged to the soon-to-be-released staffing mandates promised by the Biden Administration.

LeadingAge, our national partner, was not contacted by USAToday reporters for this piece. To share the organization's perspective, LeadingAge submitted a subsequent letter submitted to the editor: A few of the critical points by Ms. Sloan and LeadingAge include:

• The federal minimum staffing mandate anticipated in 2023 will not magically attract the workforce necessary to satisfy the mandate. 
• Reimbursement, providers' primary support source to pay for staff, is funded through Medicaid. Individual states established those Medicaid reimbursement rates, which should be adequate to cover the costs of caring for residents. Right now, there's nothing close to adequacy in reimbursement rates.
• Lastly, we must prioritize our too-long-ignored aging services system and the professional caregivers who serve older adults and families.

We hope to see the letter to the editor submitted by LeadingAge published by USAToday. It offers a refreshing counterpoint to many of the claims made in the USAToday article. If you are contacted about this story or a similar story, you can refer to the talking points crafted by LeadingAge to shape your message.