Nursing home staffing rules provoke an immediate response

The host

Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner

Julie Rovner is the chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy, Julie is the author of the critically acclaimed reference book Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z, now in its third edition.

Not surprisingly, the nursing home industry is filing lawsuits to block the Biden administration’s new rules requiring minimum staffing at facilities that receive federal dollars. What is mildly surprising is the pushback against the rules by members of Congress. Lawmakers do not appear to have the votes to reject the rule, but they may be able to force a floor vote, which could be embarrassing for the administration.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats aim to force Republicans who profess to support contraceptive access to vote for a bill guaranteeing it, which all but a few have refused to do.

This week’s panelists are KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner, Stat’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang, Politico’s Alice Miranda Ollstein, and CQ Roll Call’s Sandhya Raman.

Panelists

Among the items from this week’s episode:

• In a lawsuit to block the Biden administration’s staffing rules, the nursing home industry argues that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lacks the authority to enforce the requirements and that the rules, if enforced, could force many facilities to shrink or To close.
• Anthony Fauci, the retired director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the man who advised both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the Covid-19 pandemic, testified this week before a congressional committee tasked with review of the government’s response to the pandemic. Fauci, the subject of many conspiracy theories, has pushed back hard, particularly on charges that he covered up evidence that the pandemic began because dangerous germs escaped from a laboratory in China funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
• A giant inflatable IUD was placed near Union Station in Washington, D.C., marking what appeared to be “Contraception Week” on Capitol Hill. Republican senators blocked an attempt by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to force a vote on legislation to codify the federal right to contraception. Soon after, Schumer announced a vote next week on codifying access to IVF services.
• Hospitals in London appear to be the latest high-profile victims of cyberattacks, raising the question of whether it might be time for some sort of international organization to fight cybercrime. In the United States, health systems and government officials are still in the very early stages of addressing the problem, and it is unclear whether Congress or the administration will take the lead.
• An FDA advisory committee this week recommended against the official approval of MDMA, a psychedelic also known as ecstasy, to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Panel members said there was not enough evidence to recommend its use. However, the discussion provided more guidance on what companies should present in terms of testing and evidence to make their case for approval more feasible.

Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported on and wrote KFF Health News-NPR’s latest “Bill of the Month” feature about a free cruise that turned out to be anything but . If you have an outrageous or confusing account, you would like to send us, you can do it here.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Credits

• Francis Ying Sound Producer
• Stephanie Stapleton Editor