The Pennsylvania Department of Health is updating regulations for the state’s 685 skilled nursing facilities, where more than 72,000 people live, after almost 25 years. The department is soliciting feedback from all interested stakeholders, including industry groups, resident advocates and the general public.
The proposed SNF regulations come in four packages. The third and most recent package of proposed regulations was published Saturday. At that time, a 30-day public comment period started.
“Publishing the proposed regulation updates in a series of separate, smaller packages allows each section the opportunity for appropriate feedback during the public comment period,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said.
The third package of proposed SNF regulations would expand the information that applicants for licensure must provide to include detailed ownership information, financial data, staffing and emergency plans, a proposed operating budget and regulatory history. Those requirements would apply for when licenses for new facilities are sought as well as when ownership of existing facilities changes. The package also would increase the frequency of required facility assessments, add bed bugs to the list of reportable diseases, and update tuberculosis prevention requirements.
“Giving the department the tools to ensure potential owners of skilled nursing facilities are thoroughly vetted should help provide some peace of mind to residents and their families,” Klinepeter said.
The health department concurrently is working on the final package of proposed regulations, which will include proposed updates to resident rights and staffing ratio requirements.
“To truly advance quality long-term care in Pennsylvania, we need high-quality providers – and PHCA has called for a more robust change of ownership process to ensure those providers are operating throughout the state. At the same time, Pennsylvania must increase the funding of care for tens of thousands of residents on Medicaid, because too many high-quality providers have already been driven out of the state due to insufficient Medicaid reimbursement rates. We hope, throughout this regulatory process, that PHCA and our members can work with the Department of Health to implement all necessary changes that will improve the lives of Pennsylvania seniors – as well as those delivering their care,” Zach Shamberg, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association, told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
