Vice President Kamala Harris met with nursing home care workers in La Crosse today to discuss the Joe Biden Administration’s efforts to support the industry.
The vice president visited the Hmong Cultural and Community Center on the city's South Side and was joined by Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure and Service Employees International Union Secretary-Treasurer April Verrett for the discussion.
Crowds gathered along the sidewalks as the motorcade moved down Highway 14 transporting the officials from La Crosse Regional Airport to and from the center.
Just prior to her arrival, Harris announced new federal requirements for nursing home staffing and compensation.
The requirements include all Medicare and Medicaid funded nursing homes to provide 3.48 hours of service per resident per day. In a typical nursing home with 100 residents, this would require two to three registered nurses, 10 to 11 nurse aides and two additional nurse staff to maintain minimum staffing standards.
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Harris also announced a rule that would increase home workers’ pay by requiring at least 80% of Medicaid payments for home care services to go to workers’ wages. A White House official said the hope is that higher compensation will reduce turnover rates within the industry and improve the quality of care.
This was Harris’ third visit to Wisconsin in 2024. In 2020, Biden and Harris won Wisconsin’s election by about 20,000 votes, narrowly hanging on to the swing state. In the April 2 state primary race, about 48,000 Democratic party members voted they were uncommitted to a candidate for the upcoming election.
In La Crosse County’s primary election, the Democratic Party won the presidential preference vote with 58% of votes cast in their favor. Within the party, President Joe Biden earned 88.94% of the primary vote for presidential candidate. Uninstructed delegation votes came in second at 7.46%.
This breaking news story will be updated throughout Vice President Kamala Harris' visit today.