Impact Calculations Available for Federal Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Jeff Bostic

A new resource is available to LeadingAge Minnesota members that allows nursing home providers to calculate the financial impact of the staffing mandate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Made available by LeadingAge New York to all state affiliates, the dataset uses the most recent Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data. Use the information to see the estimated impact on your facility. You'll find detailed instructions to help you understand the data behind the estimates within the resource. 

Our analysis

The analysis of the overall impact of the rule is sobering in light of the significant staffing challenges that nursing homes have dealt with for years. The annual cost nationally is estimated at almost $7.4 billion or nearly $500 thousand per nursing home. The Minnesota numbers are somewhat better than average, but we can still expect to see an impact of $81.4 million or $235 thousand per facility, with the need to add more than 1,000 nursing full-time equivalents at a time when caregiver employee vacancy rates remain around 20%.

More resources

You can find this resource along with others on our page dedicated to analysis and resources related to the CMS Staffing Standard. If you have questions about this resource, contact Jeff Bostic, Director of Data and Financial Policy. Other staffing regulation questions can go to Mark Schulz, Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs.