U.S. Senator from Iowa hears nursing home concerns

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley visited Western Home Communities on Oct. 10 for a question-and-answer session with employees and other long-term care leaders from the area.

“I know the senator deeply cares about the seniors in Iowa and across the country, so it was great to have him here listening to our concerns and paying attention,” says CEO Kris Hansen.

“Hearing directly from the Iowans who are putting in the work, day in and day out, better equips me to legislate in a way that addresses their concerns in Washington,” Grassley said.

Most of the discussion centered on a recently proposed rule from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would raise mandatory minimum staffing levels at nursing homes.

“We actually welcome the recognition that there needs to be better quality and more staffing overall,” says Hansen. “That being said, we don't necessarily need more mandates or oversight, especially unfunded and impossible to meet due to there not being any nurses in the workforce to meet the mandate.”

Hansen says he made sure Senator Grassley understood that the staffing edict would cost about $8 billion, with 40% coming from state funds through Medicaid. Hansen believes that would start a cycle of forcing nursing home rates to be raised, thus putting many residents onto Medicaid sooner and requiring more government funds for operators to stay in business, especially in rural areas of the state where many nursing homes have already closed.

“There are a lot of challenges hitting at once, so access to quality care in the future certainly seems to be in jeopardy,” Hansen says. “We need more of a solution orientation from the federal government, not more punitive threats with no funding or forward-thinking solutions, and I know our senator would like to see that, too.”

Senator Grassley takes questions on Oct. 10 at Diamond Event Center.