“The new CMS directive is frustrating to America’s front line caregivers because its net impact will be to reverse a federal policy that is currently benefiting elderly patients,” said Lisa Cantrell, a co-founder of the National Association of Health Care Assistants, and a national spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Senior Care.
Cantrell said that as average acuity rises in nursing homes, the federal government’s role should be to help direct-care staff and that advocates would lobby lawmakers to change current policy.
Joining her in a call for a “swift correction based on common sense” were coalition members, including: the American Association for Long Term Care Nursing (AALTCN); the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA); the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators (AANAC); The American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators (AANAC); the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA); the American Health Care Association (AHCA); the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL); the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA); and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.
The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the largest association representing nonprofit providers, also opposes the cuts.
