A group of 20 states is suing the Biden administration over a new policy requiring minimum staff levels in nursing homes, claiming the mandate could force many facilities to close.
Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina filed the lawsuit Tuesday and are the lead plaintiffs. They were joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The states argue the rule is unrealistic and would cripple an already strained industry.
Under the new policy, nursing homes that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding must have a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident each day. The plaintiffs say these requirements are impossible to meet given current nationwide staffing shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The complaint maintains that the Biden administration overstepped its authority.
"Instead of addressing the legitimate challenges nursing homes face, the Defendants put forward a heavy-handed mandate. This Final Rule poses an existential threat to the nursing home industry as many nursing homes that are already struggling will have no choice but to go out of business," the complaint read.
"And the main victims will be the patients who will have nowhere else to go."
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates the new rules will cost $43 billion over the next decade.
The administration plans to phase in the policy. Nonrural facilities must meet the requirements by May 2027, while rural ones have until May 2029.
Two similar lawsuits have been filed in Texas, one by the state itself and another by three nursing home operators.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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