22 December 2021: New Laws for New York Nursing Homes to Take Effect in January 2022

New Year, New Laws: An Overview of New Laws Impacting New York Nursing Homes in January 2022

Responding to shortcomings that became apparent during the coronavirus pandemic, the New York state legislature passed several laws in 2021 that will take effect early in January 2022. While state lawmakers have yet to seriously address Andrew M. Cuomo's COVID nursing home deaths scandals, this report describes the measures they've taken that will apply to nursing home operators. The following excerpt briefly summarizes the laws that will take effect, though more detailed information can be found by clicking through to the article:

Nursing Home Staffing Levels

On January 1, 2022, N.Y. Public Health Law § 2895-b(3)(a) will take effect. This section sets forth a minimum standard for staffing hours in nursing homes. Generally, nursing homes report staffing hours to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) through a payroll based journal. Under this new standard, nursing homes are required to maintain daily average staffing hours equal to 3.5 hours of care per resident per day. A certified nurse aide, a licensed nurse, or a nurse aide must provide this care....

Minimum Direct Resident Care Spending Requirements

N.Y. Public Health Law § 2828 will take effect on January 1, 2022, and will result in increased budget oversight of nursing homes in New York. Under Section 2828, every nursing home is required to spend at least 70% of revenue on direct resident care, of which the nursing home is required to spend 40% of revenue on resident-facing staffing....

Publication of Nursing Home Ratings

Finally, on January 6, 2022, N.Y. Public Health Law § 2808-e will take effect. CMS assigns ratings to nursing homes through its Five-Star Quality Rating System. Nursing homes receive an overall star rating and separate star ratings based on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. Under Section 2808-e, the Department of Health will be required to post each nursing home’s most recent overall star rating or a link to access such information on the homepage of its website.

The article doesn't mention the economic impact to nursing home operators from the cost of compliance with the new laws. Since New York nursing homes already face a severe qualified labor shortage with the state's National Guard deployed to try to plug the gap, the new measures will likely further reduce the amount of care that nursing home operators can provide without the continued diversion of state resources. The operators' lobbying group is seeking to delay the implementation of the new legal requirements.