Staff Contact: Jane Drummond
The American Health Care Association successfully defeated a CMS rule mandating nurse staffing levels for long-term care facilities. The challenged provisions required the presence of a registered nurse 24 hours per day, seven days a week and mandated minimum staffing ratios for R.N.s and nurse’s aides based on hours per resident day.
The court rejected the 24/7 requirement as exceeding the agency’s authority, as federal statute requires an R.N. be present only eight hours per day. It also invalidated the minimum staffing ratios because they imposed a rigid staffing structure that was not based on any assessment of residents’ needs or a facility’s case mix, in contravention of federal law. Accordingly, the court vacated those provisions of the rule, found at 42 C.F.R. Section 483.35(b)(1) and 483.35(c). All remaining provisions of the rule remain in effect.