Governor Kristi Noem and 14 of her fellow Republican governors sent a letter to President Biden opposing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed new regulations for long-term care facilities. The governors called on President Biden to reconsider this unfunded mandate and engage in conversation on how to best serve residents of long-term care facilities. You can read the letter here.
“CMS proposed new regulations for long-term care facilities that impose unnecessary, one-size-fits-all staff requirements,” wrote Governor Noem and her colleagues. “If adopted, CMS’s proposed regulations will force many long-term care facilities in our communities to close, eroding access to healthcare for some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
The proposed regulations put additional burdens on an industry that is already experiencing a nationwide workforce shortage. They would also impose significant industry costs that would erode access to care.
“Republican governors are pulling multiple levers to ensure these facilities have the staff they need to care for their vulnerable residents,” continued Governor Noem and the other governors. “In contrast, your proposed rule treats this complex, deep-rooted problem as something to be solved with a simple wave of the bureaucratic wand.”
Governor Noem was joined by the following Republican governors in issuing the statement:
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon.
