Specialized Information for:
Long-Term Care ConsumersFamily MembersAdvocatesCOVID-19April 09, 2021
On April 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded three emergency waivers of regulations in place since the beginning of the pandemic. The waivers that were rescinded were:
Waivers Related to Nurse Aide Training
CMS is maintaining its waiver of training and certification requirements for nurse aide training. The waiver allows facilities to employ individuals beyond four months, even though they have not met the federal training and certification requirements. Before the pandemic, facilities were prohibited from employing nurse aides for more than four months if they had not met the 75-hour training requirement and certification requirements. CMS maintained the requirement that these individuals be competent to provide nursing and nursing-related services.
While maintaining this waiver, CMS also directs states to consider allowing some of the time these individuals have worked to count towards the 75-hour requirement. Additionally, CMS has not stated when the four-month cap will be reinstated; however, when reinstated, all staff working without meeting the training and certification requirements during this waiver period will have an additional four months to meet the requirements.