BACKGROUND On Thursday, March 9, President Biden released his budget proposal for FY 2024. While the President’s budget is largely a messaging document that is not voted on by Congress, it is an important document for communicating the Administration’s priorities. In the coming weeks, Administration officials will testify before key committees on the budget proposal. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The President’s Budget is comprised of numerous documents including the main budget summary as well as the HHS “Budget in Brief,” which outlines budget proposals for CMS and other entities within HHS (such as the CDC and FDA). These documents are available at the links at the bottom of this alert. The budget document for CMS has a continuing focus on nursing facilities by the Biden Administration. President Biden had previously discussed nursing facility quality and safety in his State of the Union speech in 2022. The budget notes that CMS will release a proposal for minimum staffing levels in nursing homes which will be included in the SNF PPS Proposed Rule scheduled to be released this spring. Additionally, the budget notes that to address staffing, HHS and the U.S. Department of Labor are working together to make hundreds of millions of dollars available for training and recruiting of nurses and caregivers; further details on what this will entail have not been released. The budget also summarizes other recent actions CMS has taken in the nursing home space: - Increasing payments to Skilled Nursing Facilities by nearly $1 billion in FY 2023, and making updates to the Skilled Nursing Facilities Quality Reporting and Value-Based Purchasing Programs
- Implementing rules to raise the safety standards for poor-performing nursing homes, increase penalties for violations, and require nursing homeowners to undergo federal background checks to reduce fraud and abuse
- Enhancing transparency for consumers by improving the Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating System and Care Compare website, including releasing data publicly on Medicare-enrolled hospital and nursing home ownership and changes of ownership
- Working alongside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to protect residents and their families by drawing attention to illegal debt collection by nursing homes
- Prioritizing safe and high-quality nursing home care by requiring an infection control specialist to be on-site and educating residents on the benefits of vaccines
- Funding for pandemic preparedness for the next public health crisis and expanded funds for supply chain readiness
You can find the President’s Budget for FY 2024 here. You can find the Budget fact sheet here. You can find the HHS Budget in Brief for FY 2024 here. | 
