1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between February 2020 and August 2023, nursing homes in the United States lost nearly 200,000 employees. (2) Forty-five percent of nursing home providers have reported a worsening workforce situation since May 2022. (3) Ninety-six percent of nursing home providers have reported difficulty in hiring staff. (4) More than ninety percent of nursing home providers have increased wages and bonuses to recruit and retain staff. (5) Nearly eighty percent of nursing home providers have hired temporary staff, who are often much more expensive than permanent staff. (6) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported that 129 nursing homes closed in 2022, threatening access for America’s seniors, especially in rural areas. (7) The minimum staffing mandate in the proposed rule entitled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting” published by the Department of Health and Human Services on September 6, 2023 (88 Fed. Reg. 61352–61429), will result in nursing home closures, displacing an estimated 450,000 nursing home residents, harming access to nursing home care, especially in rural areas (as defined in the proposed rule). (8) The minimum staffing mandate in the proposed rule may exacerbate workforce shortages, especially in rural areas (as defined in the rule). 3. Prohibition on finalizing proposed staffing rule The Secretary of Health and Human Services may not implement, enforce, or otherwise give effect to the proposed rule entitled Medicare and Medicaid Programs