Nursing Home Staff Push Axed From Spending Bill Seeks New Home

Advocates for nursing home residents will likely need to push for long-sought mandatory staffing levels outside Democrats’ tax and spending bill even though debate on the measure has stalled until next year.

The House version of the Build Back Better legislation (H.R 5376) included provisions for a round-the-clock registered nurse in all facilities and a step toward new mandatory minimum staffing requirements for all nursing homes. But Senate Democrats removed the mandatory staffing provisions in a draft version released Dec. 11 by the Senate Finance Committee.

Staffers say the text isn’t final, but as a practical matter it’s ...