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Texas has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over a new federal rule requiring minimum staffing levels in nursing homes.
Let’s bring you up to speed: The Biden administration’s nursing home staffing rule, finalized in April 2024, requires all nursing homes receiving federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to meet specific staffing standards. These include having a registered nurse on duty 24/7 and ensuring each resident receives at least 3.48 hours of daily nursing care. The implementation was intended to be phased, with nonrural facilities needing to comply by May 2027 and rural facilities by May 2029.
What’s going on now: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging the rules, arguing that the Biden Administration overstepped its authority by imposing these mandates without Congressional approval. Texas also claims that the staffing requirements would place significant financial and logistical burdens on rural nursing homes, potentially leading to their closure.
What Paxton said: In a statement, AG Paxton said, “This power grab by Biden’s health bureaucrats could put much-needed care facilities out of business in some of the most underserved areas of our state. We are taking the federal government to court over this rule that could worsen rural care shortages by shutting down facilities due to new hiring quotas that are impossible to fill.” He added, “This power grab by Biden’s health bureaucrats could put much-needed care facilities out of business in some of the most underserved areas of our state.”
Another view: In February 2022, the Biden administration argued that the then-proposed rules would ensure that those in nursing homes would “be treated with dignity and respect and to have access to quality medical care.” They also argued that these new rules would “improve the quality and safety of nursing homes, to protect vulnerable residents” and “crack down on bad actors.”
