Health Law Scan

On May 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its Final Rule to implement minimum staffing standards for long-term care (LTC) facilities in the United States. However, as discussed in our prior blog post, the Final Rule was immediately challenged under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in two major lawsuits. These cases have resulted in divergent rulings, injecting more uncertainty across the LTC industry about the future of the application and validity of the Final Rule.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its Final Rule today to implement a minimum staffing “floor” for nursing homes in the United States, as first announced on April 22. The Final Rule, which as proposed garnered significant attention and opposition, with over 46,000 public comments submitted, reflects the Biden administration’s efforts to implement staffing mandates to ensure quality of care for long-term care (LTC) nursing home residents.

The Biden administration recently announced its much-anticipated proposed rule for implementing a minimum staffing “floor” for nursing homes in the United States and further launched a nursing home accountability initiative. These efforts are seismic for the long-term care nursing home community and will bring new challenges and scrutiny to a health industry sector battered with healthcare personnel shortages, pandemic recovery obstacles, changing reimbursement models, and regulatory scrutiny.