CNN
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A federal judge in Texas resolved the controversial Biden administration rules on Monday that had called for nursing homes to strengthen nursing staff over the next few years.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kakusmalik said nursing home staffing and other flaws “deserve an effective response, but the regulatory response must be consistent with legislation in Congress that governs congressional nursing homes.”
“It's rooted in admirable goals, but the final rules must be consistent with Congressional law,” writes Kaxmalick, appointee of President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration completed its initial minimum staffing restrictions for nursing homes in April last year. The mission, which called for facilities to hire more registered nurses and nurse aides, was immediately challenged in court by nursing home operators and their trade associations. Nursing facilities are already struggling to fill open positions, they said.
“This unrealistic staffing mandate threatened to close nursing homes and drive away vulnerable elderly people,” Clif Porter, CEO of the American Healthcare Association/National Supported Living Center, said in a statement.
A 2023 analysis from the association would have required nursing homes to hire more than 100,000 additional nurses and nurse aides for $6.8 billion a year by meeting the proposed duties.
Nursing home industry groups pushed Congress to improve funding for nursing home care, which is primarily provided through Medicaid. They said staffing rules do not provide support for the recruitment and training of nursing staff.
“Our stance has always been clear. It's wrong to impose a mandate rather than addressing the sufficiency of the funding and labor force,” said Katie Smith Sloan, CEO of Leadingage, who represented a nonprofit in aging services and also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, in a statement.
The staffing mission raised bipartisan concerns in Congress. A similar law to the bipartisan Senate bill introduced by House Republicans would have prohibited the Department of Health and Human Services from finalizing proposed rules. Approximately 100 members of both parties wrote to then-Chief Xavier Beterra expressing concern over the proposed rules, particularly that could lead to widespread nursing home closures.
The rules were sought to provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per day for all nursing care facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds. Additionally, nursing homes had to always have registered nurses on-site. The order will be incrementally incremented over three years, with rural communities up to five years.
HHS said about 75% of nursing homes would have had to hire staff.
The agency did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the judge's decision.
