A federal judge in Texas late Monday blocked a federal nursing homes staffing mandate former President Joe Biden's administration rolled out last year.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said in his decision the Health and Human Services Department did not have the authority to go beyond laws passed by Congress governing nursing homes staffing.
Kacsmaryk said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could not require nursing homes to have a registered nurse on staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week or require them to provide a minimum of 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident, per day.
“Though rooted in laudable goals, the Final Rule still must be consistent with Congress’s statutes,” Kacsmaryk wrote in the decision. “To allow otherwise permits agencies to amend statutes though they lack legislative power. Separation of powers demands more than praiseworthy intent.”
The American Health Care Association, a nursing home trade group that brought the lawsuit over the rule, said the judge’s decision was a victory for nursing homes, their residents and families.
“This unrealistic staffing mandate threatened to close nursing homes and displace vulnerable seniors. The court decision not only upholds the rule of law and balance of powers, but it protects access to care for our aging population,” Clifton Porter, American Health Care Association president and CEO, said in a news release.
The Health and Human Services Department did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
