Attorney General Raúl Labrador has joined a coalition of 20 states in a legal challenge against a new rule proposed by the Biden-Harris administration's Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). The rule, which is contested by attorneys general from Kansas, Iowa, South Carolina, and other states, would impose stricter staffing requirements on nursing homes.
Currently, nursing homes must provide eight hours of continuous staffing per day as mandated by Congress. The proposed CMS rule seeks to extend this requirement to 24 hours daily and introduce a staffing ratio that would leave 97% of nursing homes non-compliant. It also includes additional reporting obligations for states.
Attorney General Labrador expressed concern about the impact of these regulations on Idaho's senior citizens. "Idaho has a growing population of senior citizens," he stated. "These unconstitutional and burdensome regulations from CMS will harm the very facilities we rely on to provide care for our aging family members, as well as harming the patients themselves."
The complaint filed by the coalition argues that the new rule could devastate the nursing home industry. "This final rule poses an existential threat to the nursing home industry as many nursing homes that are already struggling will have no choice but to go out of business," it reads.
The coalition opposing the rule includes attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.