Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act

This bill would stop the federal health department from putting a new nursing home staffing rule into effect and from issuing a similar rule in the future. It blocks the 2024 federal rule that set national staffing minimums and payment reporting for nursing homes.

In practical terms, nursing homes would not have to follow that federal rule’s requirements, like having a nurse on site 24/7 and providing at least 3.48 nursing hours per resident per day. State Medicaid programs also would not have to report certain payments to direct care workers and support staff under that rule.

The bill also creates a 17‑member advisory panel on the nursing home workforce. Members include nurses, nurse aides, doctors, nursing home leaders, and federal health officials, with voices from rural areas. The panel must meet regularly, stream meetings online, and publish reports with recommendations to strengthen the workforce, including on shortages and access to care in rural and underserved areas.

Key points

• Who is affected: Nursing homes that take Medicare or Medicaid, and the residents and staff in those facilities, especially in rural communities.
• What changes: Stops enforcement of the federal staffing rule and blocks similar future rules; sets up a public advisory panel that studies staffing and shares recommendations.
• When: The ban starts as soon as the bill becomes law. The panel must be created within 60 days, hold its first meeting within 180 days after appointments, publish an initial report within 60 days of that first meeting, and then report every year.