Today is the 33rd day of the regular short session. There are 27 days until adjournment.
This week, we continued to focus our efforts on legislator meetings and grassroots support for assisted living and skilled nursing facility Medicaid funding. Next week, the State Revenue Forecast will be released on February 17, then the House will lead with their supplemental proposal, and the Senate will follow. Once those budget proposals are released, we will respond in public testimony, and through our grassroots activation. Our goal is to ensure the best possible position for our members in the final supplemental budget proposal.
WHCA 2022 Supplemental Budget Priorities
Increase Current Assisted Living Medicaid Funding From 60 Percent to 77 Percent of the Methodology
- $27.9 million GF-S, $59.2 million total funds
- Moves the funding from 60 percent to 77 percent of the calculated rate, in alignment with adult family home Medicaid rates.
- Requires a DSHS report to the Legislature on discharge regulations and policies.
Support Low Wage Workers with Wage Equity Funding
- $24.3 million GF-S, $48.6 million total
- Provides wage increases up to $4.00 an hour for low-wage workers
- Targeted funding specifically for this purpose beginning July 1, 2022
- The benchmark wage is December 31, 2021
COVID Relief Bridge Funding for SNFs
- $24 million in Federal CARES Act Funds (No GF-S); ne-time/temporary
- 3 months of bridge payments - April 1 to June 30, 2022
- Addresses short term the extraordinary increases in direct care costs by providing $28 a day
- Helps providers sustain operations while waiting for the next scheduled rebase on July 1, 2022
Extension of COVID-19 Add-ons
- We support the Governor’s budget proposal on the COVID-19 add-ons. The overall cost for these extensions is in excess of $500 million for all LTC sectors.
Agency Staffing Work Group
- We are seeking a work group to examine the extraordinary fees from nurse staffing agencies statewide.
Policy Legislation
Last week we reported in detail on
HB 1837, legislation that would undo an initiative of the people that repealed L & I ergonomics regulations. The business community has formed a coalition to oppose the legislation. The bill is now in the Rules Committee, where, if passed, the legislation becomes eligible for floor consideration. The original ergonomics regulations from the Department of Labor and Industries required substantial job analyses and costly compliance measures.
HB 1124, legislation that would allow delegation of blood glucose monitoring from RNs to CNAs in all health care settings, is scheduled for hearing in the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee on Thursday. Introduced last year, the legislation is the first effort to expand nurse delegation from home and community based care settings to all health care settings.
HB 1868, legislation that would create hospital nurse staffing ratios and create fines for failure to meet such requirements continues to move in the House. Providers who are already unable to compete with hospitals are very concerned that the staffing mandate in hospitals will only make it more difficult to compete. We understand that the nurse unions and the hospital association are now in negotiations over the legislation.
We are just beyond the halfway point for the 2022 legislative session. Thanks to those of you who have made it a priority to advocate with your legislators. If you haven’t done so, it’s not too late. Please
click here to reach out today.
Winter Conference Legislative Update
Please plan to join us for the WHCA Winter Conference Legislative Update on Thursday, February 17, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Jeff Gombosky, Carma Matti-Jackson, Lauri St. Ours and Sam Sullivan from our team will be updating you about our important work on your behalf. Click
here for Winter Conference registration information.
As always if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
