Nursing Home Rule Change Coalition
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares today joined a 20-state coalition in filing a lawsuit against a new rule from the Biden-Harris administration’s Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). The rule, which dramatically expands staffing requirements for nursing homes, threatens to impose significant costs (hundreds of thousands of dollars) on states and force many nursing homes out of business.
“This new rule is yet another example of Washington bureaucrats imposing sweeping mandates without considering the devastating impact on our communities. Nursing homes in Virginia and across the country already face challenges, and this policy will force them out of business,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares. “Ultimately, the real cost will be felt by our most vulnerable citizens—those who rely on these facilities for care and support.”
Currently, nursing homes are required by Congress to provide 8 hours of continuous staffing per day. The new CMS rule would increase that requirement to 24-hours per day and impose strict staffing ratios that 97% of nursing homes are currently unable to meet. Additionally, the rule creates new, burdensome reporting requirements for states.
The coalition of attorneys general argue that CMS is overstepping its authority and bypassing Congress with the new rule.
In addition to the 20-state coalition, LeadingAge affiliates from 17 states have also joined the lawsuit. LeadingAge is an organization with numerous nursing home members.
Attorney General Miyares is joined in the coalition by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.
Read the complaint here.
October 10, 2024 @ 3:24 pm
they need better trained employees and more staffing around the clock..too many have to pay extra caregivers from the outside to come into nursing homes to help with their family members or the patient then have to pay extra people to help do laundry and doctors appointments..that’s hard if the patients have no family or friends and the Nursing Home is already taking all their checks.
October 10, 2024 @ 10:58 am
Properly trained and and adequate staffing is not going to drive nursing homes out of business. These are cash cows for these corporations and they are not going to shut down that stream of incoming money. And they certainly won’t train and staff without rules telling them to and lose that much profit.
October 10, 2024 @ 9:19 am
Adequate safe care for residents is bad? Nursing homes are owned by corporations who want to understaff them. They don’t want to pay for training staff or pay a living wage.