WASHINGTON – First District Congressman Paul Ryan this week introduced new legislation to establish a demonstration project that would enable Wisconsin “single-task” personal aides in Medicare and Medicaid nursing facilities to continue performing certain basic care-giving tasks as long as they have received specific training to perform these tasks and have met all competency requirements. The bill closely resembles broader legislation Ryan proposed in May, which is currently pending in two House subcommittees.

 Ryan's latest bill (H.R. 5282) directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a five-year pilot project in up to five states, permitting facilities in these states to employ specially trained "single-task" aides to perform specific non-medical tasks such as feeding residents or pushing residents in wheelchairs. Participating states would have the responsibility of delineating the tasks these aides could perform and developing training programs in consultation with the Secretary.

"For over seven years, Wisconsin nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA's) have received assistance from trained single-task workers who help feed nursing home residents and push their wheelchairs from place to place," said Ryan. "This has helped relieve some of the pressure on overworked nurses and CNA's, particularly at mealtimes, while providing more one-on-one attention to nursing home residents. The policy has yielded excellent results, enabling Wisconsin nursing homes to deliver some of the best care in the nation. We shouldn't let federal bureaucrats stand in the way of continued improvements in quality of care,” said Ryan.

Earlier this year, the federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA,) which regulates the nation’s health care facilities, informed the state of Wisconsin that its “single-task” employee policy violates federal law. HCFA has given Wisconsin until the end of the year to develop a compliance plan.

"The goal of this legislation is to prevent a nursing home crisis in Wisconsin and to prevent the wholesale termination of these valuable single-task workers, who have been a key part of our nursing homes' success," said Ryan.

Like Ryan's earlier single-task legislation, his latest bill contains safeguards that prohibit nursing homes in states – like Wisconsin – that currently require minimum staffing levels to use “single-task” personal aides to meet those levels. This ensures that single-task workers supplement, rather than replace, CNA's and other nursing professionals.