Bowling Green Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, released a statement following the passage of his bill, the Building America’s Health Care Workforce Act, by the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

“I was proud to see my bill, the Building America’s Health Care Workforce Act, pass the House Energy & Commerce Committee today. Since 2020, there have been over 500 long-term care facility closures nationwide, and we still have significant workforce gaps to fill to reach pre-pandemic levels. This bill provides flexibilities to allow temporary nurse aides to put their on-the-job training in nursing homes toward ultimately becoming a certified nursing assistant. This helps to bring more qualified workers into senior care settings to ensure our vulnerable populations receive the care they need at the bedside while also creating a pipeline for certified nurse assistants for years to come. I am proud to advance this legislation forward and look forward to voting on this bill on the House floor in the near future,” said Congressman Guthrie.

Prior to COVID-19, individuals working in Medicare-Medicaid certified long-term care facilities were only permitted to work as temporary nurse aides in these facilities for four months unless they met the criteria to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). To become a CNA, current law requires individuals to complete at least 75 hours of state-approved training and competency evaluation program and only allows individuals to work in facilities as temporary nurse aides for four months.

The Trump administration waived these requirements at the beginning of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency in order to ensure seniors maintained access to high-quality bedside care during the pandemic. The emergency permitted TNAs to work in these facilities for longer than four months as long as they completed approved training and showed competency in providing bedside care.

The Building America’s Health Care Workforce Act builds off these flexibilities by giving states the ability to request a three-year waiver, permitting TNAs to work by the bedside for up to 12 months or until they fulfill certification requirements needed to become a CNA. This would maintain patient safety protections by requiring competency evaluations that assess temporary nurse aides on various factors including interpersonal skills, performing basic nursing skills, personal care skills, and mental health and social service needs.

To ensure patient and worker safety is protected, facilities that have been cited for providing substandard care within two prior years would be excluded from these provisions. It would also allow continuity of care for residents served in nursing homes so they can retain their direct caregivers who have been by their side throughout the pandemic.

Click Here [link]to read the full text of the bill.

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