What’s happening: On April 7, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated key portions of the minimum staffing requirements for skilled-nursing facilities (SNFs) mandated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
What else to know: The court ruled that CMS’ standardized numerical minimums were inconsistent with existing federal law passed by Congress in 1987.
CMS’ rule required all nursing homes to have a registered nurse (RN) on site and available to provide direct resident care 24/7. It also required a minimum of 0.55 hours per day for RNs, 2.45 hours per day for nursing assistants, and 3.48 hours per day for total nurse staffing. Minimums established by federal law, however, require an RN at least eight hours per day and for the facility to individualize considerations of resident needs.
The court vacated the relevant regulatory provisions based on this legal reasoning, but the ruling is not necessarily the last word on this matter. The federal government has the right to appeal, and a similar case is being considered by a federal court in Iowa.
