On December 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) repealed provisions of the Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting Final Rule, originally finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). HHS stated that it repealed the mandates “after determining the final rule imposed by the Biden Administration disproportionately burdened facilities, especially those serving rural and Tribal communities, and jeopardized patient’s access to care.”
The 2024 rule had established a federal requirement that nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid provide residents with a minimum total of 3.48 hours of nursing care per day, including at least 0.55 hours from a registered nurse per resident per day, and 2.45 hours from a nurse aide per resident per day, along with requirements that each facility have a registered nurse onsite 24/7.
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement after the Trump administration formally repealed the nursing home staffing rule finalized by the previous administration: “Thanks to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, seniors are going to be less safe in nursing homes. Taking nurses out of nursing homes and reducing the number of workers that need to be on site caring for our moms, dads, and grandparents is going to cause countless tragedies. Combined with the nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid that will further hurt residents of nursing homes and rip away home care from millions of seniors and Americans with disabilities, this step is another reminder of the devastation caused by the Republican health care agenda. I will be fighting every step of the way to make sure there is always a nurse in a nursing home and make sure dignity is a reality for Americans who deserve safe and affordable long-term care.”
The Director of Public Policy for the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care stated in an email: “We were very disappointed by CMS’s announcement today. Even though it claimed the rescission was in part due to congressional and judicial developments, it repeated the often-debunked lines from the nursing home industry that there are not enough staff and that rural facilities will be harmed. Both of these claims are not true. The rule had numerous opportunities for exceptions, meaning that nursing homes with legitimate hiring challenges would be exempted from compliance. Further, there was no evidence rural facilities would have a harder time complying [than] non-rural facilities…. The real problem is that nursing homes treat workers poorly and cannot retain them. Most disheartening was that CMS offered no plan to address the staffing crisis in nursing homes. Instead, it is returning to the status quo, which results … in residents suffering and dying because nursing homes are not staffed adequately.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) in a nursing home in the United States due to nursing home infection, nursing home staff shortage, nursing home understaffing, nursing home pressure ulcer (nursing home bedsore), nursing home fall, nursing home aspiration, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a nursing home malpractice lawyer in your state who may investigate your nursing home injury claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a nursing home case, if appropriate.
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