District court strikes down CMS minimum nurse staffing rule

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas April 7 vacated the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' minimum staffing mandate for nursing homes. The rule required all nursing homes to have an RN onsite and available to provide direct resident care 24/7. It also required a minimum of 0.55 hours per day for RNs, 2.45 hours per day for nursing assistants and 3.48 hours per day for total nurse staffing. 

“[A]ny regulatory response must be consistent with Congress’s legislation governing nursing homes,” wrote District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in the ruling. “The Final Rule’s challenged provisions are not....  Though rooted in laudable goals, the Final Rule still must be consistent with Congress’s statutes. To allow otherwise permits agencies to amend statutes though they lack legislative power. Separation of powers demands more than praiseworthy intent.” 

The AHA opposed the staffing mandate, saying in a friend-of-the-court brief in October that it “is not just an overly simplistic and costly solution to the nursing shortage; it is no solution at all.”