First few Article Sentences
The State of Texas filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration on August 16, 2024, seeking to vacate a rule requiring nursing homes that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to meet certain minimum staffing requirements. The lawsuit alleges that because 97% of all nursing homes participate in these programs, the Final Rule will impact nearly every U.S. nursing home. Texas is considered among those hardest hit by the Final Rule, with CMS estimating the state will have to hire more additional registered nurses (RNs) than any other state and spend half a billion dollars per year to comply with the requirement.
The Final Rule, issued in April 2024, revises 42 CFR ยง 483.35 to now require a registered nurse to be on-site at a nursing home 24 hours per day/seven days per week to provide direct resident care, with limited exceptions. The Final Rule also specifies that facilities must provide at least 3.48 nurse staffing hours per resident day (HPRD), including a minimum of .55 HPRD of registered nurse staffing and 2.45 HPRD of nurse aide staffing. "Hours per resident day" means the average hours of care that each nursing home resident receives per day.