1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Safe Staffing for Nurse and Patient Safety Act of 2018 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The overwhelming weight of academic research continues to demonstrate that patient safety, prevention of medication errors, failure to rescue situations, patient deterioration, patient death, and nurse burnout are all proportionate to the number of nurses staffed in a hospital. Therefore, higher staffing levels by experienced registered nurses are associated with lower rates of negative patient outcomes and costs. (2) Proper nurse staffing decreases the rate of patients’ hospital readmissions. Medicare does not pay hospitals for patients who are readmitted for the same condition within 30 days. In 2013, 17.5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries were readmitted to a hospital within 30 days following discharge. These readmissions cost Medicare an estimated $26,000,000,000 per year. The research indicates, however, that proper nurse staffing reduces such readmissions and pays for itself over the long term. (3) The 2015 National Healthcare Retention and RN Staffing Report revealed that nurse turnover costs the average U.S. hospital nearly $5,000,000 every year. Appropriate nurse staffing reduces nurse burnout and turnover, saving hospitals money. (4) Proper nurse staffing helps prevent medication errors and nurse burnout through decreasing healthcare worker fatigue. Healthcare worker fatigue is a major patient safety hazard. The academic literature indicates that appropriate staffing policies and practices are an effective strategy to reducing such fatigue and protecting patients. (5) Research shows that optimal nurse staffing and skill mix improves patient satisfaction, and results in savings to hospitals through reductions in negative, adverse patient events. Improved patient satisfaction due to appropriate nurse staffing is reflected in hospitals’ patient satisfaction survey results, which are publicly reported, and are a key measure for value-based payment