Texas judge tosses Biden-era policy to increase nursing home staffing

A U.S. District Court judge in Texas on Monday tossed a Biden-era policy to increase staffing in long-term care facilities that participate in Medicaid or Medicare programs.

A U.S. District Court judge in Texas on Monday tossed a Biden-era policy to increase staffing in long-term care facilities that participate in Medicaid or Medicare programs.

In May 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, under then-President Joe Biden’s administration, issued a final rule requiring the facilities, including about 97% of nursing homes, to change their staffing requirements by providing 24-hour licensed nursing services at the facilities.

The mandate came after the Covid-19 pandemic heavily affected nursing homes and raised questions on whether enough was being done to care for residents at the facilities.

The Biden administration said it was establishing federal minimum nurse staffing standards to provide residents with safe and quality care, address insufficient staffing at facilities, and "create a consistent floor to reduce variability in the minimum floor for nurse-to-resident ratios."

In response to the policy, the American Health Care Association, Texas Health Care Association and other nursing home-affiliated organizations filed a lawsuit in June against the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In the Northern District of Texas filing, the plaintiffs argued that it "exceeds CMS's statutory authority, effects a baffling and unexplained departure from the agency’s longstanding position, and creates impossible-to-meet standards that will harm thousands of nursing homes and the vulnerable Americans they serve."