Washington, D.C. – On October 8, the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI) filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a federal regulation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that threatens the health, safety, and well-being of millions of nursing home patients across the county. Representing two non-profit nursing homes and 21 LeadingAge state affiliates, which are membership associations that represent hundreds of not-for-profit aging services providers across the country, HLLI joined 20 State Attorneys General, led by Kansas, Iowa, and South Carolina in the legal challenge.
In April, CMS promulgated the regulation “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting” requiring all federally funded nursing homes to meet one-size-fits-all staffing requirements, including 24/7 RN care and enhanced facility assessments that will require nursing homes to hire more than 100,000 additional full-time employees and cost them approximately $6.8 billion per year, while providing no funding to support the necessary hires. The requirements are inconsistent with statutory law and Congress’s decision to establish a flexible staffing standard that recognizes the wide variation in nursing home residents’ needs and surrounding communities. Nearly 300,000 nursing home beneficiaries—one-fourth of total nursing home residents—will be at risk of losing necessary care because of the rule.
HLLI President Anna St. John: “The CMS rule unlawfully seeks to override Congress’s decision to give nursing homes flexibility in meeting their residents’ needs. Our senior citizens are now at risk of losing necessary care near their friends and family because of the onerous and unnecessary burdens this rule places on providers, especially in rural communities.”
HLLI represents LeadingAge South Carolina, LeadingAge Kansas, and LeadingAge Iowa in the suit, along with LeadingAge state affiliates from 18 additional states (Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia) and two non-profit nursing homes. In addition to the States of Kansas, Iowa, and South Carolina, the other State plaintiffs are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The lawsuit is Kansas v. Becerra, No. 1:24-cv-00110, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
For more information about this case, please see our complaint, our case webpage, or contact the attorney(s) below:
Anna St. John, President, (917) 327-2392, anna.stjohn@hlli.org.
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The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a public interest law firm dedicated to battling the progressive left’s agenda by defending civil liberties, countering government overreach, and fighting class action abuse.
As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, HLLI relies on support from individuals and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government. To learn more, visit http://www.hlli.org.