DES MOINES, Iowa (Legal Newsline) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced May 31 he has joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in condemning federal actions that they say will delay enforcement protections for beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid who receive care in skilled nursing facilities.
The coalition of attorneys general submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the letter, the coalition argues against recent decisions to roll back 2016 CMS regulatory reforms that were put in place to improve safety for patients residing in nursing homes. The goal of the 2016 reforms was to protect these patients from possible abuse, neglect and exploitation.
“These actions by the Trump administration would strip Iowa seniors of important protections,” Miller said in a statement. “Iowa’s nursing home residents need more protection, not less.”
Miller was joined in the sending the letter by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.