The federal nursing home staffing mandate has been the center of conversation in the aging services space since it was debuted and took effect in early 2024. But, the fight against the regulation is starting to heat up. On Wednesday, October 10, 2024, twenty state attorney generals filed suit against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to have this mandate overruled.
The final ruling issued by CMS is available to read in the Federal Register here. In short, the mandate initiates nationwide standards such as having a registered nurse on duty 24 hours a day, 3.48 hours of direct nursing care provided per patient, and more.
The average consumer may think “what could be so bad about that?” Well, for starters, providers are still dealing with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected the long-term care labor market. Health care professionals have returned to the workforce at a much slower rate than expected.
This has left providers & nursing home lobbyists feeling that CMS has overreached their authority. In the breaking McKnight’s Long-Term Care News article, a quote from Steve Bahmer, the President and CEO of LeadingAge Southeast, has really shone a light on why this mandate has caused such a stir.
“While we share CMS’ goal of ensuring that all nursing home residents receive quality care, we believe that the staffing mandate misses the mark. CMS has overreached its authority with this rule and would place an undue financial burden on states and providers. Our members are dedicated to delivering high-quality care, and this mandate threatens their ability to do so by introducing onerous requirements that jeopardize the very services residents rely on.”
One thing to keep in mind, however, is the recent Loper Bright case that has overturned the Chevron doctrine. If you need a refresher on what this means for you as a healthcare organization, take a moment to read our post – Loper Bright and CMS Compliance in a Post-Chevron World.
This 20 state lawsuit is currently in the US District Court for Iowa but we are sure there will be much more to learn as this case continues to unfold.
LW Consulting, Inc. (LWCI) offers a comprehensive range of services that can assist your organization in maintaining compliance, identifying trends, providing education and training, or conducting documentation and coding audits. For more information, contact LWCI to connect with one of our experts!
