An Interim Final Rule was received by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 22 titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Repeal of Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities.”
Though the contents of this rule are not known at this time, it would appear from the title that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) intends to repeal the rule finalized in May 2024 that would require 24 hours/7 days per week of on-site registered nurse coverage and specific hours per resident, per day of total nurse, registered nurse, and nurse aide staffing in nursing homes beginning in 2024.
These staffing standards were successfully challenged and vacated in two separate court cases in 2025 and a moratorium was included in the Fiscal Year 2025 federal budget HR 1 that prohibited implementation of this rule until 2036.
It is believed that these developments are behind the Trump administration’s move to repeal the rule. The interim final rule remains under review at OMB at this time.
LeadingAge will provide further analysis upon release of the rule to the Federal Register.
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